


Take My Soul

by Cleopatra (empressofthelight)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Blood and Violence, Demonic Possession, Demons, Depression, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Ghosts, Grieving, Haunted Houses, Haunting, M/M, Multi, Past Character Death, Polyamory Negotiations, YGOBB 2020, Yugioh Big Bang 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:14:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 101,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25835581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empressofthelight/pseuds/Cleopatra
Summary: After Mokuba’s death, Yuugi and Seto’s lives slowly fall apart. In order to salvage any part of it, Yuugi decides to buy an old manor in a small town a few miles from Domino City. It’s haunting-free (Ryou and Yuugi checked) and is ripe to be turned into a cozy bed and breakfast.However, soon after settling in, strange occurrences begin to happen all around them. Items go missing, dishes move on their own, and Seto seems to be hallucinating about hands and… rats? Maybe moving into a seemingly perfect home in the midst of a strange town wasn’t the best decision Yuugi’s ever made… Nor the decision to let whatever is in their home actually connect with them.
Relationships: Kaiba Seto/Mutou Yuugi, Kaiba Seto/Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi | Atem
Comments: 115
Kudos: 40
Collections: Yu-Gi-Oh! Big Bang 2020





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I dedicate this fic to the incredible amazing soul without whom I never would have finished it: [ Life_0r_Death ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Life_0r_Death/pseuds/Life_0r_Death)
> 
> Writing horror is one of the most challenging genres I've dipped my toes into and I'm so lucky to have such a good friend guide me through it and inspire me to dig deep into what makes even the smallest details truly terrifying. Horror is my all time favorite genre. It is my hope that this fic gives you chills and pulls at your heartstrings.
> 
> Please check out the amazing art that was inspired by this fic.  
> [ Cover Art ](https://artsysyd123.tumblr.com/post/626154535250984960/here-it-is-my-piece-for-yugioh-big-bang-2020-an) by [ Artsysyd123 ](https://artsysyd123.tumblr.com)  
> [ Chapter Nine ](https://untimelyrose.tumblr.com/post/627139667649757184/my-collab-with-writelovetomeempress-for-the) by [ Untimelyrose ](https://untimelyrose.tumblr.com)  
> [ Epilogue ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25960615/chapters/63567670#workskin) and [ Afterward ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25960615/chapters/63609277#workskin) art by [ Five_seas ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Five_seas/pseuds/Five_seas)

“Welcome home!” Yuugi giggled, throwing open the door and grinning ear to ear.

Stepping into the sun filled foyer, he marveled at the stark chaos. Particles of dust danced in the sunlight, creating the illusion of a glass separation between the dark house and everything the sun touched. Seto walked in behind him, casting a shadow over him warping the imaginary glass to exclude him. Yuugi smiled at Seto’s shadowy outline kissing the top of his head before groaning at everything else. 

Yuugi bought this old run down Victorian era mansion online without even stepping foot into the place. And it was perfect! Falling to pieces, cold, covered in dust and an absolute disaster. Just what he needed to make Seto feel better: work. Well, work in an unconventional sense anyway, and it was something they could do together. Something they needed more than anything right now, to stick together, just like before.

Seto scoffed, stepping out of the sunlight’s imaginary bubble. “You bought a money pit.”

“I sure did!”

“Why?”

“You have strict orders not to work, but I know, and you know, that will drive you crazy so I bought you work.”

Yuugi watched him walk in slowly, looking around with his typical critical eye. Ha! He didn’t need a critical eye to see what was wrong with this place. The whole place screamed it, even the dancing dust. “You bought work alright. I’m pretty sure he meant a vacation.”

“This is a vacation!”

“My idea of a vacation is a little sunnier and with sand,” Seto snickered, taking a step towards him.

“Oh come on! The snow is great! Besides, you’d go stir crazy after a few days and I’d have to bail you out of jail for building the world's biggest sandcastle on record and by proxy- destroying the beach.”

Seto snickered, shaking his head. “So your next best thought was to buy a pile of junk on a hill that no one wants?”

“It’s not junk! It’s a bed and breakfast. And don’t you worry! Ryou and I even checked to make sure it wasn’t haunted.”

He scoffed and shook his head again. “Wow.”

“So it’s perfect!”

Seto walked into the living room while he stood in the foyer, watching him. The windows were still boarded up, but one lone stream of light shone through, highlighting Seto’s coat as he walked through it. He looked around and sighed. “What do you expect me to do with this?”

“Rebuild it with me.”

“Do you know how to rebuild it?”

“I actually do.”

“Oh really?” Seto smirked at him and turned to face the rest of the room, gesturing down the hall. “So you know how to do electrical work, heating/cooling and gas work, and plumbing on top of construction and very possibly foundation work and how to repair the roof? All of which has outdated material that probably has to be taken out in biohazard suits.”

Yuugi beamed at him, shrugging his shoulders. “We have YouTube.”

“We need to hire contractors.”

“But I wanted to do this with you.”

Seto walked back into the foyer and reached up to brush his thumb over Yuugi’s cheek. “I don’t think you understand how much work it is to rebuild a place like this.”

“I’ve watched _This Old House_ all the time with Grandpa. It can’t be that bad.”

Seto kept smirking at him and walked over to the light switch. He flipped it on and it sparked, the light in the other room sparked and the bulb exploded. Yuugi jumped, staring at it while Kaiba quickly flipped off the light with his elbow. “Want to say that again?”

Yuugi’s shoulders drooped and he looked around the tattered house. The walls were crumbling, the floor cracked, the ceiling discolored, everything covered in dust. He sighed. Maybe this wasn’t as great of an idea as he thought. All he wanted was to help. He completely understood how Seto felt. He lost his brother, his company, his whole world and Yuugi wanted to give him something to show him he was still needed, still useful. But looking around, Seto was right. This was a lot and it wasn't something either of them could tackle by themselves. Maybe he should’ve found something more on the finished side, but just needing updates. It was too late now, though. They had this. Seto walked past him towards the kitchen and Yuugi followed, not sure why they were still there. He’d proved it was a dumb idea. 

A roach scurried across the counter top into the wall and Seto rolled his eyes. “And pest control.”

Yuugi sighed, even more disappointed, “I’m sorry. I just thought this was a good idea.”

He didn’t say anything walking around the kitchen, looking it over. Then he stopped and tapped on the counter. “Were you wanting to make this a house or remodel the bed and breakfast?”

“I was thinking we could open the bed and breakfast. I’d be a good business. We’re in a tourist area and this is the only part of the town that’s close to everything while being outside of it. It’s the perfect spot.”

“So you wanted to rebuild this dump by ourselves and then if we hadn’t killed each other or ourselves at some point, wanted me to deal with a bunch of people going in and out of here?”

Yuugi chortled weakly, “I was actually thinking you could handle the finance business part of it. I’d handle the people.”

Seto grinned at him and turned back to the kitchen, opening a cabinet with a mouse inside. Yuugi squeaked with the mouse and jumped back, making Seto laugh. He shut the cabinet and took a step back. “Where would we live? Did you buy another house as bad as this one?”

“No. I was thinking we could live here.”

“With the bunch of people going in and out?”

“I… yeah.”

Seto nodded, brushing his fingers over the counter again, then turned to walk through the side doorway to the next room. They walked through the whole house, Seto commenting on every broken thing they’d have to fix through each room, making his heart sink lower. When they stepped into the basement, Seto made the first good comment and it was more snide than anything, “Well the basement isn’t flooded or cracked. How, I have no idea, but it isn’t.”

“That’s good…”

Seto glanced back at him, but Yuugi wasn’t paying attention. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he stayed close to Seto, glancing around at the dark basement hating every second of being there. Things covered in sheets sat everywhere down there too, giving the illusion of someone under the sheets just standing and watching them. Yuugi glanced at Seto while he examined a pile of rusted metal that looked like it once resembled a stove of some kind. Seto hummed and surveyed the basement again. Yuugi looked up at him, wondering what he was thinking as he headed to the stairs. Yuugi rushed to catch up with him when he saw a sheet move out of the corner of his eye. He gasped and jumped, pulling on Seto’s arm. “It moved!”

Seto turned and gave him the most indignant frown he’d probably received from him since he met him. “The house is full of mice and roaches and you’re worried about a sheet moving?”

“...”

Seto muttered under his breath and stomped over to the sheet to prove a point. He tried to stop him when the sheet moved again, but he grabbed it and yanked it down. Yuugi gasped and jumped up on the bottom step, stuttering as a mouse squeaked in surprise and scurried across the concrete floor. He held onto the post with knuckles so white they probably matched his flushed face. He stuttered again, looking back at Seto. 

Instead of being understanding (which was a little hopeful on his part) he held his gaze, crumpled up the sheet, and tossed it. “Satisfied?”

Yuugi watched the mouse scurry away, following it with the flashlight on his phone when he caught sight of something they hadn’t looked at. “What’s that?”

He could practically hear Seto’s eyes roll. “An evil demented ghost mouse. Your greatest fear.”

Yuugi turned and scowled at him. “I'm being serious.”

“I am too. I think you’d have a heart attack if that was real.” He walked up to him, looking where Yuugi pointed. “That is a root cellar… I think.”

“But why’s it like that?”

“My guess is for coal,” he said, gesturing to the rusted pile of metal behind them. “Hmmm…”

Yuugi watched him walk towards the dirt part of the basement, flashing the light across the walls where it looked like bricks were taken out of it to make the extra space. “What is it?”

“This is an addition, after the house was built. The bricks are still here.”

“Huh. Weird. No one’s lived here.”

Seto ducked down and walked into the hole, swallowed up by the shadows. Yuugi held onto the post at the bottom of the stairs, waiting anxiously for him to come back out, holding his breath and trying not to let his mind wander to what could possibly be in there. He probably should have followed him, make sure he’s alright, make sure nothing was there, but his fear kept him tied tight to the post. “Seto?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s in there?”

Seto emerged from the shadows dusting himself off and shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Well… we can get it fixed.”

Seto walked through the basement towards him, turning off his flashlight and rounding the stairs. Yuugi followed him closely, unable to hold in his excitement that they’d be out of there. When they reached the top of the stairs, Seto led him back to the kitchen. He looked around it again then turned to Yuugi, half smiling. “Do you want to know how much this will cost?”

“Probably not.”

“It can cost as little as 200 grand or as much as 2.5… depending on how carried away you want to get.” He looked around the kitchen again. 

“It would be cheaper to bulldoze the house down and sell the land. At least we’ll make money off of it.”

Seto turned and quirked a brow at him.

Looking away from him, he lifted his shoulders. “I’m not trying to lose all of our money. This property is worth double if we tear down the house. I ended up getting it before a resort company did.”

“Is that what you want to do?”

“Well no, but you’re right. This is a money pit. We can’t fix it anyway. The last thing I wanted to do was make things worse.”

“Did you want to restore it or rebuild something else?”

Yuugi looked around and smiled. “It had to be beautiful when it was first built. You saw the outside. It’s just… It needs a hug and a kiss, right?”

“Or a bulldozer.”

He giggled, nodding, “Yeah…”

Seto walked up to him and took his hand leading him back down the hallway to one of the great rooms. Looking around it, Yuugi had no idea why he brought them back there. He led him over to the doorway into a hall leaving the great room to go towards a few other rooms, pointing around. “This part of the house can be cut off from the rest.” Then he pointed up. “It can even include the upper floors if you wanted.”

Yuugi looked up and squeezed his hand. “I thought you wanted to bulldoze it.”

“I said we needed to hire contractors, you said to bulldoze it down.”

“You also said it would cost 2 million dollars to fix.”

“I want it done right.”

Yuugi giggled again, shaking his head. “So you like it?”

Seto looked around, then back down the hall to the kitchen. Yuugi smiled up at him, seeing a little life in his eyes for the first time in months. “I think I will.”

\---

They drove through the sleepy town, looking for a place to stay for the night and get a start on everything in the morning. Yuugi kept staring out the window gawking at the antique shops and old homes. He loved it here. They pulled into an old and quaint looking hotel and got out. Seto already grabbed his laptop bag while Yuugi had to walk around to the back door to grab their overnight bag. When he looked up, Seto was well on his way to the door already. He had to ran up to catch him, taking his hand as they walked in. Yuugi didn’t care if he hated him holding his hand in public or not. This was a ghost town in the offseason. It was close enough to ‘not in public’. 

They walked inside and Yuugi smiled at the elderly lady in a plaid blue dress and pearl buttons down the front at the counter. “Hello!”

She looked up and took her reading glasses off, smiling at both of them and fluffing up her curled hair. “Well hello! How can I help you? Needing directions to the highway?”

Yuugi giggled. “Oh no. We just bought the bed and breakfast on the hill and we need to stay for a night.”

“Actually, we need to stay for a week,” Seto said and the elderly woman beamed.

“A week. Of course.” She hobbled over to the computer and put her glasses back on. “Okay let’s see….”

Yuugi looked up at Seto trying not to laugh. He had a look on his face that screamed, ‘why the hell is this taking so long the hotel’s empty just hand us a key.’ She typed more onto the computer then smiled at them, looking over her glasses. “Do you have a preference for a room?”

“One with a kitchenette would be great- Oh!- and a king size bed.” 

She smiled and turned back to the computer. “I have one right up front here. What name would you like on the room?”

Yuugi glanced up at Seto but he didn’t look like he was going to answer so he did. “Yuugi.”

“Yuugi what, dearie?”

“Oh ha ha, Yuugi Kaiba.”

She blinked, recognition sparking in her eyes. Yuugi’s shoulders slumped as he watched her hands curl back from the keyboard, turning her attention to Seto. She attempted a sympathetic smile, her voice soft and motherly, “You must be Seto Kaiba then. I’m sorry for your loss. We read about it in the paper. It’s a downright shame. Poor boy.”

Seto stiffened and Yuugi thought maybe he should’ve said something else. He went out here thinking no one would know, but it looked like Seto’s reputation preceded him. She went back to the computer, typed some more, and took the credit card from Yuugi. Then she hobbled back and grabbed two plastic key cards and shoved them in a cardboard envelope. She smiled softly, handing the card over and pointing to the left. Her hand lingered, eyes apologetic. “First door on the right. Can’t miss it.”

“Thank you.”

“Enjoy your stay.”

He nodded and pulled on Seto’s hand. They walked to the room and Yuugi opened the door with the card. Pushing it open with his back, he waited for Seto to walk in and followed him, letting the door close behind him. The room was normal for a hotel, nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. Seto set his laptop bag on the desk against the wall, and Yuugi let the overnight back fall to the floor watching him open the bag up. “What are you doing?”

He didn't answer, instead, taking his laptop out and walking to the other side of the bed. Yuugi watched him sadly, relenting to the idea it was just going to be that way. He wanted to change into more comfortable clothes anyway. Opening up the overnight bag, he stole another regretful glance at Seto. He sat facing away from him; plugging the laptop in and setting it up on his lap. He sighed, pulling out his PJ’s. Undressing and glancing up periodically at Seto, he remembered a time when this went a lot differently. He used to be unable to change clothes without Seto dragging him onto the bed in a fit of giggles, kissing him everywhere. Every time. He’d even pout about it if Yuugi tried to change in peace. It hadn’t been like that in almost two years. Not since they found out Mokuba was sick. 

He pulled his sleep shirt down over his head and straightened it. Even if going to see the house had cheered Seto up, the attendant brought him back down. He couldn’t win.

He started to reach for the TV remote when Seto turned around. He set the laptop down and took off his shoes, then stood up to take off his belt and pants. Yuugi just watched him move around the room to get his sleep pants from the bag, not really sure what was going on. This was new. The last time Yuugi watched Seto change was six months ago, and that was because he accidentally walked in without him noticing. He undressed and put them on and walked back to his side of the bed and climbed in, turning to look at him. “What?”

“I-uh nothing. What are you doing?”

“You mean, what are ‘we’ doing? You wanted to do this with me, right?”

Yuugi glanced at the laptop and saw a screen pulled up with a floor plan designing program, the old one entered into it. He just stared at it, at a loss for words until Seto leaned forward frowning. Yuugi smiled at him and climbed into bed, gasping when Seto kept frowning and grabbed him by the hips to sit between his legs. He laughed, falling back against Seto’s chest and almost knocking the laptop off the bed. Seto snickered and pushed him. “Get that before you break it.”

“Me? You almost broke it.” He picked it up anyway and laid back against Seto’s chest, snuggling under the covers into him before setting it down on his lap. 

Seto picked it back up and folded it back to use the touch screen, pulling out a stylus from the side. “I was thinking,” he started, drawing on the screen, “we could separate the house here, then we’ll have the great room, three bedrooms and the upper floor kitchen. It would leave the rest to the bed and breakfast.”

“Yeah, but that takes away three of the 7 rooms. Not much of a bed and breakfast, and the master is on the bed and breakfast side.”

“Exactly. We’ll need to add on to the house.”

“Where?”

Seto drew more on the screen, showing three added bedrooms onto the bed and breakfast part and turning the master bedroom into an entertainment room, and discussing whether they wanted to add an extra apartment, if they found a reliable caretaker for the B&B. Yuugi looked it over. It seemed perfect. They moved onto their side, redesigning the kitchen and bringing it onto the main floor, talking about what to do with the great room and how to get upstairs to their bedroom, expanding rooms and moving things around, hitting a few snags when Seto would comment a wall may be load bearing. The more they talked about it, the more Yuugi could see it and it was everything he could possibly want. More importantly, it was something they designed together; a place all their own that they’d live in together. It felt like they were making a fresh start with all the bad things left behind them, and that’s what he wanted.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing the real star of this show: Plush Dark Magician 
> 
> [Artsysyd123](https://artsysyd123.tumblr.com/)  
> truly captured his amazing adorableness! 
> 
> Check out [ Take My Soul's Cover Art](https://artsysyd123.tumblr.com/post/626154535250984960/here-it-is-my-piece-for-yugioh-big-bang-2020-an)

Kaiba sat at the island in their brand new fully updated kitchen, glancing at Yuugi out of the corner of his eye making pancakes. Everything was perfect, exactly how they wanted it. He hadn’t felt accomplished or relaxed like this in a long time and he had to admit he was anxious to get the bed and breakfast up and running. He designed a website for it, but it wouldn’t be live for another month at least. They wanted to enjoy their new house together before diving into the next project. Besides, if anything needed to be fixed, this was the best way to double check that things were actually fixed and brought up to code instead of having a catastrophe with a house full of sue-happy vacationers. 

Yuugi moved around the kitchen easily, remembering where everything was like he’d lived there his whole life. It had been a week. He even prioritized his stupid dry erase board on the wall with ‘Name of the day’ on it. How did he find that? He swore he threw that thing away. He snickered as Yuugi shut a cabinet door with his foot and moved back over to the stove, “I’m surprised you’re not putting chocolate chips in there.”

“Yeah, I can’t find them.”

“We just got them. They’re in the pantry.”

“I looked, but I couldn't find them.”

“Strange.”

“Yeah. I’m adding it to the list of ‘missing’ things.”

“List?”

“Yeah. My favorite spatula, my angel my mom gave me, the chocolate chips, oh what else. Ummm… my favorite shirt is gone too.”

“Did you pack them all together? Maybe we left a box in storage?”

“Nope. Definitely put them away. I remember it.”

“...”

“I guess I moved them at some point because I've found them all over the house.” Yuugi turned, with his favorite spatula in his hand, waving it with a giddy grin. “See?”

“I see.”

“Still haven’t found my favorite shirt, but I’m sure it’ll turn up.”

Kaiba sipped his coffee then tilted his head. “Which favorite shirt?”

“My favorite shirt. What do- Oh! No not my favorite of your shirts which is mine I just let you borrow it.”

He chuckled and shook his head. Sure. Let him borrow his own clothes. “Good. Lose your own laundry.”

“So what are we doing today?”

“We have someone coming in for an interview, remember? You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to. I know you still have unpacking to do.” His eyes narrowed.

Yuugi nervously laughed, scratching the back of his neck and looking back at him with a fake innocent smile. “I think that’s your stuff.”

“Mmhmm. So I can throw it all away?”

“NO!”

He laughed, standing up from the island with his coffee in hand. He walked around to Yuugi, wrapping his arm around his waist and kissing his forehead. “Don’t burn the house down.”

“I haven’t burned anything in 4 years. It’s a record.”

“That means you’re due for it.”

“Probably,” Yuugi giggled. “Are you eating with me?”

“She’ll be here in ten minutes or I would.”

“I'll save some for you then,” he said, putting the pancakes from the pan onto a plate and leaning back in his arms to set them on the island.

“I’d rather you saved me the chocolate chip ones.”

Yuugi turned back to the stove with an apologetic smile. “We don’t have any. I told you.”

“Because you forgot where you put them.”

“Maybe.” Yuugi smiled up at him, getting up on his tiptoes and pulling down on the neck of his shirt to kiss him. 

“Seriously don’t burn the house down. It’s currently worth more than you are.”

Yuugi laughed and he walked away with his coffee cup out of the room. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long.

\---

Yuugi heard the front door close and flipped the pancakes over. Burn the house down. Ha! He’d actually gotten pretty good at cooking since he moved in with Seto and Mokuba. He hated having someone else cook food for him so he taught himself how to do it and poor Seto and Mokuba were his guinea pigs. He smiled to himself remembering the first dinner he made them that he burned so bad it was ash. Mokuba made fun of him for two hours about it. Both refused to touch it, but that night Seto told him he was proud of him for trying and to keep at it. Now he could cook without burning anything. He was so mad about Mokuba’s teasing then, he honestly missed it now. 

Yuugi reached back and grabbed the plate from the island to load it up with the rest of the pancakes when he realized the plate was empty. Looking around the kitchen, he wondered if he might have dropped them, but they weren’t anywhere. Maybe Seto took them before he left. Though there were a lot on there and now there was none. He shrugged and put the pancakes on the plate before they burned. Turning the stove off, he walked around to the other side of the island and sat down. Guess he’d just eat them by himself. After all, that’s all he had left.

After he finished eating and put his dishes in the dishwasher, he flipped the magnet on the front to ‘dirty and walked out of the kitchen. The spare bedroom adjacent to Seto’s office was his to do whatever he wanted. He wanted a gaming room! Walking into the room, he didn’t get far, stopped by boxes piled high. Well, it will be a gaming room after he unpacked everything. He sighed, staring at the room full of boxes on every surface stacked almost to the ceiling. “I need to stop getting things.”

He laughed at himself and shimmied through the boxes into the room, opening up the first box he came to at hand level. He sifted through it, putting things away as he went. This box had most of his computer gadgets in it, so it was easy to set up on the desk. Moving all the boxes off the desk was a pain, but he got it set up. He moved around the room, trying to find the other boxes with his computer things in it and within the hour, had it set up how he liked it. He smiled at it, then walked over to another box. He opened it up and beamed. 

“There you are!” Reaching into the box, he pulled out a plush dark magician doll with a tiny bell on his hat. “You don’t belong here.”

He set it down on his gaming chair and turned it to face the room, smiling at him, slouched over to the side. He adjusted him so he was sitting up right and nodded, walking back over to the box to put more things away. Setting up that room brought back so many memories with each thing he took out of the box. Memories of when he was little, building a 3D wooden puzzle of the pyramids of Giza with his grandpa, memories of making friendship bracelets with Tea when they were little, of the arcade that he and Joey went to all the time and won their tournament in highschool, and how Seto asked him out shortly after he graduated college; a plush dark magician doll on his keyboard at work holding a card.

His smile fell thinking of how it was the only thing keeping him sane for months after Mokuba died and Seto went to the hospital. Yuugi sighed, walking over to his chair to pick it up, needing a hug if nothing else. He stopped mid step, staring at his office chair; empty.

He chewed his bottom lip, kneeling down to look around his chair. “I just had it…”

But it was gone.

He tried to push down the unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. It probably fell off and was around there in the boxes somewhere. He stood up, dusting himself off, hyper aware of the quiet in the room and the chill in the air. He kept telling himself no one was there and it definitely didn't just walk off itself, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.

While searching for his doll, he found his cork board covered in pictures of his friends, of Seto and of Mokuba and his mom and grandpa. It made him smile, taking some of the tension out of his shoulders and he picked it up, walking over to the wall where he planned to hang it up. He grabbed the sticky hooks from his desk and put it up on the wall, hanging the board on it. He stepped back staring at it with a fond smile. It was starting to feel more like home already and the unease from the missing doll went out the window. He opened a new box, unwrapping picture frames and setting them up until he unwrapped the picture frame with one of his wedding pictures in it. He smiled down at it, brushing his fingers over the frame. The picture wasn’t nice. None of their wedding photos were, but this one was taken by Mokuba and every time he looked at it, he remembered what he said that got him to laugh. Mokuba wanted a picture of them dancing at their reception, although he couldn't get Seto to move for nothing. 

_‘See?’ Mokuba laughed, ‘This is the perfect time to practice, Seto. Just say ‘yes dear’.’_

He softly chuckled to himself, sliding his fingertips over the glass. A shiver ran up his spine, shaking his fingertips away from the glass. He looked up at the doorway for Seto, a soft breeze wafting into the room. He didn’t hear the door, but he often became lost in thought and didn't hear anything. 

The doorway was empty. 

He couldn’t shake the feeling, tingling the back of his neck spreading into his shoulders. 

The doorway was empty.

It didn’t _feel_ empty.

Something. Something cold brushed into his hair, and he swore he felt a cold breath on the back of his neck. He jumped, scrambling to his feet and twisting around to see who was behind him, but completely forgot he was holding the picture frame. He hardly had a second to see nothing was behind him to register the sound of shattering glass. He spun around, looking down at the broken picture frame. “Oh no! No, no, no… ”

He picked the picture up out of the broken glass and sighed, his smile coming back as he looked at it. Thank goodness it wasn’t torn. He got up, hugging the picture to his chest, and walked up to the shelves of his bookcase, sliding the picture behind a few of his figurines to hold it up. “That’ll work.”

He puffed out his cheeks in a heavy sigh, looking back at the box filled with glass. At least he broke it in the box instead of on the floor. Walking back over to it, he gently picked up the remaining pictures (making sure not to get glass everywhere) and set them down before lifting the box and turning to the doorway. He still felt uneasy by it, so he quickly put the box down and practically ran to the other side of the room, busying himself with another box. He continued around the room, glancing out of the corner of his eye for either the doll or something else in the room, but he saw neither. He fluffed a pillow on his butterfly chair when the front door opened. He beamed, relieved that he wasn’t alone anymore and had renewed energy to open one more box.

He had it open and folded the corners down when Seto entered the room. “You’ve been busy.”

“Got one room down! Have you seen my dark magician?”

“Where did you last have it?”

“I set it on the chair here-” Yuugi pointed at it- “but I can't find it anywhere.”

Seto snickered and wrapped his arms around him, burying his nose in his hair. “Do we need to start putting beepers on everything?”

He giggled, playfully pushing out of his arms to move around the room again. “Ah huh. We also need to fix the thermostat. I know it says it’s like 72 in here, but there’s no way.”

He shook his head. “You’re always cold.”

“Well… yeah, but this is like super cold.”

He quirked a brow at him. “It’s comfortable to me.”

“That’s because you’re never cold.”

“It’s what happens when you live with a radiating heat source.”

Yuugi giggled and stuck his tongue out at him. Then he went back to setting up his bookcase. “So what are you thinking for dinner?”

“Why don’t we go out for dinner?”

“That good of an interview?”

“No.”

Yuugi stopped and looked up at him. “Oh, well I can call some of the other-”

“No, she’s the right one for the job. The interview didn’t go well.”

“What happened?”

“She brought her kids.”

Yuugi’s smile contorted as he tried to hold in his laughter, mockingly gasping, “Oh no.”

He humphed and crossed his arms over his chest, walking around the room and looking at all the things he had finished unpacking. “Which I’m fairly sure she did on purpose because through the entire interview they were quiet, but when we left the youngest one got me distracted by your stupid game and she tricked me into agreeing on a higher salary than we talked about.”

Yuugi watched him with a loving smile. Sure blame the kids. “Tricked you, huh?” 

“They’re renting the addition as well.” He stopped in the doorway and turned to face him, smirking. “Joke’s on her. Now she’s on permanent call.”

Yuugi laughed. 

Seto leaned against the door frame, watching him put some papers in his desk from a box. Then he moved, walking into the room up to his bookcase. Yuugi glanced up at him, noticing the pained frown on his lips staring at it. He set the last thing from the box down on the desk and walked over to him, rounding his side and looking up at the picture. “I accidentally dropped the frame.”

“You don’t need to keep it.”

“It’s one of my favourite pictures. Moki did a good job.” Seto nodded absentmindedly and Yuugi pulled on his sleeve. “Come on Seto. Let’s get dinner. I’m starving.”

\---

Yuugi went into town to get more chocolate chips and other items they were running out of while Kaiba put some things away for him. He sifted through a box, deeming most of it not his responsibility to put away. He had no idea where Yuugi wanted to put his sentimental junk. Setting that box aside, he grabbed another one. Glancing at the side, he saw it was labeled for his office. He rolled his eyes and picked it up. Put the office box in the living room, sure, that’s exactly where it goes. 

He carried the box through the kitchen, rolling his eyes at the dry erase board on the wall. ‘Stud Muffin’ was written on it with cute letters with hearts drawn around it. “Really?”

He wanted to set the box down so he could erase it. Why did he still have that stupid thing? It started out as a joke, and a spiteful one at that. He hated the idea of pet names and wanted nothing to do with it. Yuugi strongly disagreed and that resulted in him ending the bickering with a ‘if you find one I like, you can use it’; knowing full well that would never happen. Didn’t stop him from trying and after a few years, he was honestly impressed he still had names to run through. He walked towards the island so he could set the box down, when he noticed the basement door was open. He rolled his eyes at that too and used his foot to close it, abandoning the idea of dealing with the dry erase board. Turning the corner to the hallway, he swore he saw Yuugi walk from his office to the spare bedroom. He stopped, watching him disappear into the dark room. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that couldn’t be Yuugi. He was slightly taller, wearing completely different clothes than Yuugi had on when he left. That being said, he thought he saw Yuugi’s favorite shirt hanging off his shoulder like Yuugi normally wore it. He walked into the spare room and turned the light on, but no one was there. 

He frowned, looking around the room again, then walked inside, setting the box on the gaming chair. He checked under the desk, in the closet, and in every nook and cranny of that room, but no one was there. “Hmmm.”

Then he walked into his office and checked that room just as thoroughly just in case something was missing. Nothing was missing. He walked back into the hallway unsettled, but decided it was probably from his medication. He had boxes to put away anyway. Going back into the spare room, he picked up the box and took it to his office. He set it down and decided if there was one box out of place there were probably more, and walked out, checking the spare room again, then walking to the kitchen. Something caught his eye and he turned, noticing the basement door open again. He shut it, pulled on the door, but it didn’t budge. He scowled at it, daring it to move again. 

It didn’t. 

“Hmmm.”

\---  
  


“Thank you so much Seto!”

Kaiba leaned back against the sofa to look into the kitchen with a quirked brow. “What?”

“Thank you for doing the dishes again!”

Really confused, he got up off the sofa and walked into the kitchen. Sure enough the dishes were done, and put away. He looked at the dishwasher, at a loss for words when he saw the ‘clean’ magnet Yuugi had on it flipped to dirty. That’s how he knew it wasn’t him. He hated the damn thing. It was pointless. Just open the fucking dishwasher. It’s not hard. He glared at the cabinets then looked at Yuugi’s beaming face. He felt himself smiling and shook his head. Maybe one of his friends was over and snuck in some cleaning while they were here. He was willing to bet it was Ryou. 

Yuugi got up on his tip toes and kissed his cheek. “I know you think the magnet thing is stupid, but I really appreciate you doing that.” 

Now what was he supposed to say?

Yuugi walked over to the dry erase board and pulled out the marker. He put it in his mouth, pulling the cap off and wrote ‘best house husband ever’ before replacing the cap and beaming at him. “Do you want to skip game night?”

“I always want to skip it,” he said, walking back into the living room, “Unfortunately, I’ll never hear the end of it from all of them if I do.”

“I can get you out of it. You used the magnet. I think that’s skip worthy.”

He shook his head at him and rounded the sofa, Yuugi right behind him. “Who’s going to play if I don’t?”

Yuugi thought about it and sighed, smiling and sitting down on the sofa beside him. “I guess no one.”

“Exactly.” 

He leaned forward and grabbed both of their controllers and headsets from the coffee table and handed Yuugi his. When he leaned back, Yuugi snuggled into his side, like he always did when they played. He tried to tell him that just made it more difficult to play, but Yuugi never listened. There was no point bringing it up again. They turned the televisions and systems on and Joey’s loud voice filled the headset making him wince. 

“There ya are! We thought ya were bailin’ for a minute there.”

“Seto did the dishes for me!”

“Did you use the magnet?” Tea giggled, “Cause that's so important. Like OMG so important.”

“It is! How am I supposed to know it’s empty?”

“By looking, Yuugi. By looking.”

“Who’s side are you on?”

“Kaiba’s side. You’re a dork.”

“It’s so good to hear from you, Yuugi!” Ryou giggled, “It’s been months! How are you liking your new place?”

“I love it. Don’t you Seto?”

Kaiba stared at the loading screen. “It’s better than it was before.”

“We can’t wait to see it! Just let us know when it’s up and ready, okay?” Tea asked, sending him and Yuugi an invite to the dungeon.

Kaiba glanced at Yuugi, quirking a brow, but he was too focused on the game to notice. “We’re opening next month and I can’t wait to see you guys!”

“We need a vacation. Fuck! Right Tris’?”

He heard crackling over the headset then Tristan came on. “What? Were you talking to me?”

“We’re playing a game Tristan. Keep it in your pants for two seconds.” Tea laughed.

“Hey! I don't wanna hear about that,” Joey groaned. “Tell sis ‘hi’.”

He heard more crackling and Serenity came on the headset. “Hey loser. Your niece wants to talk to you.”

Kaiba listened to Serenity shouting for Joey’s niece far away from the headset and then gave it back to Tristan. “Hang on. She’s busy.”

“When’s that little princess not busy?” Joey laughed.

“Right? So which raid are we doing tonight?”

“That’s up to Yuugi. He’s been out of the loop for a while.”

“I need to do all the new stuff.”

“Alright. I’ll pick one then,” Tea said.

Kaiba glanced at Yuugi, thinking of the dishes. He didn’t do them. He thought Ryou did, but it sounded like he hadn’t been over. He had to double check though. Maybe it wasn’t Ryou, but it could be Serenity or someone else. “I’m surprised I haven’t had to kick all of you out yet.”

“Yuugi won’t let us.” 

“Yeah,” Joey snorted, “somethin’ about vacation or somethin’ stupid like that.”

“Let me enjoy my house before you eat everything in it, Joey,” Yuugi giggled.

“Hey! Ain’t my fault ya cook good.”

Kaiba scoffed, “Cook well.”

“Cook good. Ya know what I’m sayin’. Ya don’t gotta correct me all the damn time.”

“You.”

“Fuck you!” 

“Better.”

Yuugi reached up and covered his mic with one hand and covered Kaiba’s with his other, grinning at him. “Be nice.”

“I’ll be nice when he doesn't make us lose.”

Yuugi giggled and let go of his headset. 

A familiar young voice shouted into the headset making him smile. Carly was just as loud as Joey was. “Uncle Joey!”

“Hey princess! Ya gonna play for your dad?”

“Yes!”

Kaiba snickered when he heard Tristan say ‘no’ in the background.

“We miss you, Carly!” Yuugi sang. “Are you coming to see me next month?”

“When’s next month?”

“In 20 days.”

“That’s so long!” she whined.

Yuugi laughed. “It’ll go by fast. I can’t wait to see you. We have a lot of snow here.”

“Snow! Will you play in the snow with me?”

Kaiba grinned, watching as Tea started the raid. Joey used the waiting time to push Tristan’s character slowly off the edge like he did to everyone who was away from the controller. “Only if you bring your sled.”

“Yay! Sled! Is Uncle Moki sledding too?”

He heard a lot of rustling and Tristan in the background telling Carly to go see her mom, then he laughed nervously. “I’m really sorry about that.”

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want his apology. Carly didn’t do anything wrong, but now he wished he’d taken Yuugi up on the offer of skipping. He had a hard time figuring out what to do. He wished he was here to sled with her too.

“So uh… We started,” Yuugi said, pushing more into his side. 

“... Oh yeah. Let’s kill some shit,” Tea huffed into the headset and everyone started playing. 

Everyone but him. He just kept staring at it, finding it impossible to move. He needed to quit the game, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. 

Yuugi covered his mic and leaned forward, his character dying along with his. “Are you okay?”

He just stared at him. He didn't know. 

A loud sound from the kitchen made Yuugi jump and almost rip the headset off. “What was that?”

“I’ll check.” He jumped up from the sofa and threw the controller and headset behind him, just missing Yuugi.

He felt bad about it, but he had to get out of the room. Inside the kitchen he saw something move. He blinked, staring at a rat that jumped down the island onto a bar stool then the floor. It scurried across the floor toward a strange place for a rat, especially one that size, to try and hide; under the breakfast nook. He could catch him easily. He sighed, taking a step into the kitchen when he saw two hands reach out for the rat and scoop it into the shadows. He gasped and fell back reaching for the light to flip it on. When he did, the light showed _nothing_. The breakfast nook was empty beneath it. There’s no way the rat or the hands he saw could be there and get away that fast. He ran over to it, kneeling down to feel around the walls, but they were solid. “What the fuck?”

“Seto?”

He sat back on his heels, staring at the walls. 

“Seto, what are you doing?”

“I… I thought…” he sighed, looking back at Yuugi then the island. “Did I take my medicine tonight?”

“No, you don’t need to take it until-” Yuugi glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped. “Oh shit! I’m so sorry. I’ll get it for you.”

“You don’t-” He glanced back up, but Yuugi was gone. 

Muttering under his breath, he looked back at the wall, sliding his hand over the smooth paint, tapping it with his fingers. No creases, no openings, no indentations, no rat. Well, hallucinations were a side effect of his medication (he knew well in advance), but… he’d taken that medicine since Mokuba died. He should’ve had something like this happen before now. He stood up, still staring at the space and went back to the light switch. He turned it off, staring at the darkness under the breakfast nook, but nothing moved, nothing happened. 

“Why did you turn the lights off?”

“I… Nothing.” He turned to see Yuugi beside him with a glass of water and his medicine in his hands looking at him with a lot of worry. 

He took it and flipped the light back on with his elbow. Walking into the kitchen, he expected Yuugi to go back to the game. He’d be back in a second. He just needed a second. 

“I’m really sorry. She-”

“Stop.”

“But you’re upset.”

“I’m not upset. Drop it.” He glared at the pills in his hand. He’d need to call the doctor and get something else. Reluctantly, he popped them into his mouth, drinking the entire glass of water and slamming it down on the counter. 

“So uh… what fell?”

“Nothing fucking fell. I said drop it. Go play the game with your idiot friends.”

The room grew cold, really cold, and he had to actively suppress a shiver. He didn’t care. He was seeing things now he was feeling things that weren’t there too. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he leaned on the counter. He felt stupid that one little innocent comment and missing a dose of medicine for maybe an hour max had him teetering on the edge. He should be able to handle it. He should, but obviously he couldn’t.

Next thing he knew, he felt Yuugi wrap his arms around his back and nuzzle his nose into the back of his neck. He fought the urge to push him away, which was what he would’ve done a year ago. Yuugi held him tighter and sighed behind him. So he put his arm over Yuugi’s and they just sat like that for a while. The room never did get warmer.

Yuugi hummed. “This house was a good idea.”

He tisked, rubbing his eyes, frustrated they were wet. “How the hell do you get that out of this?”

“You didn’t throw the controller or push me back and actually remembered to take your medicine. I’m really proud of you.”

“Speaking of medicine, I need to call Dr. Hamada.”

“Why? Are they not working anymore?”

“I don't know. I thought I saw a rat, but it disappeared. That’s impossible.”

“Hmmm...yeah. We’ll call him in the morning then.” He hugged him tighter then let go, sliding over to his side and leaning on the island. “Do you want to go to bed?”

He thought about it and let his hand fall from his eyes onto the counter. He took a deep breath and looked over at Yuugi. “No. I’d rather kill Joey.”

He lit up and moved back. “That we can do!” 

He watched Yuugi walk out of the kitchen and stood up from the island. Glancing back at the breakfast nook, still empty, he made his way through the kitchen to the doorway. Yuugi sat on the edge of the sofa grinning at the game with his headset on. “You’re just afraid you’ll lose… Nope, he’s on my team.”

He smirked at him and walked into the living room. He didn’t know what he’d do without Yuugi there.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first year I participated in YGO Big Bang, and I had a BLAST! Please check out this collection full of incredible fics by talented and inspiring writers. And check out [YGO Big Bang](https://ygobigbang.tumblr.com/) for the amazing art that accompanies them!

Yuugi blinked awake hearing the soft ringtone from Seto’s phone. He’d recognize it anywhere: ‘Loser’ from Beck that he set as his ringtone for Joey right in front of him to prove a point and just never changed  it . Rubbing his eyes and sitting up, he searched their dimly lit bedroom for Seto’s phone; quickly realizing he’d somehow switched places with Seto at some point and he was on the wrong side of the bed. He smiled and reached for the phone, answering it. “It’s-” he held the phone out, squinting at it then put it to his ear again, laying back down- “3 in the morning, Joey. You know that right?”

“So ya ain’t fuckin’ with me?”

“What?”

“Ya got someone over there?”

Yuugi shot up, alarmed that Joey sounded upset. “Are you okay?”

“Someone’s on your account. I dunno how, but I thought it was ya and I was talkin’ ta ya and then someone-” He sighed. “Just go look.”

Yuugi swung his legs over the edge of the bed, searching around for his clothes tossed off the end of the bed. He grabbed his pants and pulled them on, wedging the phone between his cheek and his shoulder. Hopping on one foot, he tried to get them up and almost fell, sucking in a sharp breath. Seto stirred, but didn’t wake up. That was a miracle. A pin drop could wake him up. He breathed out and pulled them the rest of the way up, buttoned them, and walked towards the door. Slowly he opened it and looked down the stairs, a chill running up his spine seeing the light of the TV. He held his breath walking down the stars, slowly creeping into the dark living room. Clutching the phone tight to his ear, he flipped the lightswitch, but no one was there. The livingroom may be empty, but the TV showed exactly why Joey called him. He just stared at the screen, shocked to see his game on and the messages open.

Frendlyfir30ops: ‘Yuugi? Is your mic broken?’

Frendlyfir30ops: ‘I’m surprised you're still awake. How’s your bastard of a husband doing?’

Frendlyfir30ops: ‘We all feel like shit about it. We had no idea she was going to bring up Mokuba. I know you’re trying to help him out. Get him away from all that, but we’re here for you guys, even the bastard.’

Hocus-poc0hn0:‘Who is Mokuba?’

Frendlyfir30ops: ‘Who the fuck are you? Did you hack this account?’

Yuugi crept into the living room, looking all around for any movement. Whoever it was that turned it on couldn't've vanished, but it sure seemed like they did. He swallowed a lump in his throat, looking down at the coffee table with the light up controller sat next to the cord for his headphones, but his headphones were gone and it looked like the cord was chewed in half. He shakily reached out and picked it up.

“Ya there Yuug’?”

“Yeah...Yeah I… I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Ya see it though?”

“Yeah I see it.”

Yuugi jumped when the hall light came on, spinning around to see Seto standing there glaring at him. “Yuugi, what are you doing?”

“Joey called me. He-”

“At fucking 3 in the morning?!”

“Seto, I think someone was in the house.”

He started to argue, but Yuugi gestured to the TV. “I didn’t turn that on.”

Seto walked into the living room, scowling at the television, then his eyes widened, reading over the messages. “I’ll be right back.”

Yuugi started to get up and say something, but Seto held his hand up and swept out of the room. Yuugi hugged the phone to his ear with his shoulder. He sank down onto the sofa, shaking like a leaf and it wasn't just from the cold. “My headphones are just gone.” 

“Shit! So someone’s there?”

“I don’t know. Seto’s looking I think.”

“Fuck this is crazy. You’re out in the middle of fuckin’ no where. Why would anyone break in ta play a fuckin’ game?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do ya want me ta-”

Yuugi laughed weakly, grabbing the controller to turn everything off. “No you don’t need to come over.”

He had everything in the process of shutting down when Seto came back into the room. “No one’s here. Everything's still locked too.”

“Do you think someone could've… I don’t know, hacked the system and turned it on?”

Seto frowned. “No they can’t…” He tilted his head, staring at the system as it shut down completely. “It’s the only explanation though.” 

Joey sighed into the phone. “Are ya sure ya don’t want me ta come out?”

Yuugi stared down at the cord and shook his head. “We’re fine Joey. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure I guess. Be careful Yuug’.”

“We will. Bye.” He hung up and looked up at Seto, still staring at the entertainment center. “I don’t think I'm misplacing my things. I think someone’s taking them.”

“No one’s here. I just checked every room.”

“I… I know. I believe you-” Yuugi took a breath to explain what’s been happening to him, but he cut him off.

“Do you?”

He clenched his teeth together and set the cord down on the table. “Yes. I do.”

“Then let’s go to bed. We’ll deal with your account in the morning. We can’t do anything about it now.”

He nodded, staring at the cord as he got up from the sofa and followed him back to their bedroom. 

\---

Yuugi started the shower and undressed waiting for it to warm up. It never took long, but he’d rather not freeze to death. He put his hand under running water and when it was right he stepped in, but he didn't make it inside. Seto wrapped his arms around him, pulling him back. He giggled and tried to wiggle out of his arms. “You’re wasting water.”

“You take half hour long showers, Yuugi. You’re already wasting water.”

“Ah huh.” He grinned when Seto nuzzled his nose in his hair and kissed him. “Are you going to take a shower with me?”

“If you want the bed and breakfast opened up in a week, I have a lot to do.”

“Fair enough. I’ll try to hurry and help you then.”

“You can take your time. I’m almost done.”

“You said that an hour ago.”

Seto snickered. He thought he was letting him go to get back in the shower, but he tickled his sides making him eep and jump inside it. He turned to glare at him, but he just laughed. “Serves you right. Hurry up.”

Yuugi stuck his tongue out at him and closed the shower curtain. He watched Seto’s shadow leave and heard the door close behind him. Satisfied he wasn’t going to try and tickle him again, he happily stood under the rush of warm water, letting it melt away his worries. Last week was scary; finding the cord and the system on without either of them touching it. It worried him more that whoever it was that hacked his account was asking about Mokuba, almost like they knew him and knew Seto, but not well enough. It was strange, invasive, and he felt like a little bit of his security was taken away. The warm water helped, so he let it flow over his face and wet his hair. He heard the bathroom door open again and snickered. “What happened to working?”

“I’m taking a break.”

“You just left.” He laughed and turned to see Seto leaning against the shower tile with his hand on the curtain just watching him. “You can take a shower with me, you know?”

He looked like he was debating on it, or maybe he was just staring; ogling him from head to toe. Then he stood up straight, meeting his eyes. “Where do you want everyone staying when they come out?”

“Tea called the pink room, and I think Ryou would like the room that was part of the older house. Tristan and Serenity need the two big rooms that connect to each other and Joey doesn’t care.”

“So he can sleep outside. Perfect.”

Yuugi laughed and moved out of the running water to kiss him. “Go away. I’m trying to take a shower in peace.”

He looked him over again then shut the shower curtain. “He’s still sleeping outside.”

He heard the door shut again and laughed to himself, grabbing the bottle of shampoo from off the rack. He poured some into his hand and worked it into his hair. He loved the smell of this shampoo and smiled, closing his eyes to breath it in. After he felt like he’d lathered his hair up enough he turned and rinsed the soap out, watching it swirl down the drain. Then he grabbed his conditioner and turned back to face the water. Pouring a generous amount on his hand he lifted it to smell. He liked the smell of this stuff too even though he never could figure out how this brand of coconut smelled different than all the others. He put that in his hair and got some water in his eyes. Using his wrist, he wiped it away, giggling when the bathroom door opened again. He shook his head and blinked, focusing on the faucet so that he could see better. “Seriously just get in. You’re letting all the hot air out.”

The door closed and he felt a draft. Playfully groaning, he moved closer to the water where it was warmer, letting it pour over his face and combed through his hair with his fingers. Then he felt hands in his hair, gently moving the conditioner through it making him chuckle. “Thank you.” He smiled enjoying the gentle scalp massage. “I knew you’d be-” 

Yuugi glanced back over his shoulder, hands still in his hair.

Seto wasn’t there.

No one was there. 

He jerked back, spinning around in the conditioner soaked tub and almost slipped, falling back into the corner of the shower.. He quickly reached up into his hair. Something was in his hair! Someone was in the bathroom with him! Maybe the same person who talked to Joey. He yanked the shower curtain open, too panicked to realize he might not want to see what was on the other side. It was empty. That should’ve made him feel better, should’ve given him some comfort to know he was alone in the bathroom, but he didn’t feel alone at all. He felt like someone was watching him. Someone was  _ still _ in there! He jumped out of the shower, still running with conditioner in his hair, and grabbed a towel on his way out of the bathroom and down the hall. He charged into Seto’s office and closed the door behind him, dripping wet and holding onto the towel for dear life. Seto lazily turned in his chair to face him, but when he saw him, he shot up and raced over to him. 

“What’s wrong?”

What’s wrong?! He just felt hands in his hair! There was no mistaking it. It wasn’t the wind or his hair moving from the conditioner. There were hands in his hair, but no one was there. Looking up at him, he knew he wouldn’t believe him. He was so scared. He had no idea what to do.

Seto wrapped his arms around him, sopping wet and soapy or not. “Did you see another mouse?”

He just nodded his head, thinking that was as good an excuse as any. He wouldn’t believe the truth. Seto chuckled and hugged him tighter. “You're shaking.”

“I just ran out of the shower. I’m freezing.”

He didn’t say anything at first, then murmured, “It’s not like that.” He backed away and wiped some of the soapy water from his brow, looking him over with pursed lips. “I’m sure it’s gone now.”

Yuugi gripped his sleeve, not wanting him to open the door. What if it was still there? 

“I’ll go with you.”

“Are you going to stay? I can’t… I don’t-”

Seto grinned at him, getting him to look up. “If you wanted me to take a shower with you this badly, you could have just said so.”

Yuugi laughed, weakly at first then wrapped his arms around him. He buried his face in Seto’s chest and tried not to cry. He felt stupid, but he’d never been this scared in his entire life. And he couldn’t even tell Seto the truth. He wouldn’t believe him. Seto sighed against his wet hair, sending a chill down his spine. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I guess I'm taking a shower now too. I’m already soaked and covered in conditioner.”

He laughed and backed up, “I'm sorry.”

He shook his head and opened the door, leading Yuugi back out into the hallway. The whole way he clung to him, looking all round them and got weird looks from Seto. He was worried about him, he could see it, but Yuugi didn’t know what to say or how to explain. When they got into the bathroom, Seto looked at the shower and the shower curtain. Then back at him. “Decided to let the mouse have the shower?”

Yuugi laughed. He apparently decided to let  _ something _ have the shower. How long was the shower going for? Probably a while. They’d be lucky to finish showering before the water went cold. Seto undressed and pulled him into the shower, closing the curtain behind him. Then he just held him under the warm water for a while and he felt all of his fear and anxiety wash down the drain with the conditioner. 

  
\---

Yuugi adjusted his new headset and leaned back on the sofa. Seto was busy making sure Marla (their new tenant) and her boys were settled in. Yuugi was going to go with him, but Ryou and Joey convinced him to stay and play a game with them. He didn't want to be in the house alone anymore, and did everything he could to avoid that. To think it was just the basement that bothered him before, now it was everywhere, every room, all day long all night long. He kept feeling something in his hair every day that week, either brushing against it or leaning into it. Seto would leave the room and he’d feel something. He was almost at his breaking point, sure he was losing his mind. He half thought about cutting all of his hair off, just to get it to stop, but he couldn’t do that. He loved his hair, Seto loved his hair, and it wouldn’t make any sense to explain why he was cutting it to him. He couldn’t tell him the truth.

“Hey! Ya gotta new headset!”

“I did. I still miss my old ones though.”

“What happened to your old ones?” Ryou asked.

“I have no idea.”

Joey cursed under his breath and sighed, “Ya ever catch who hacked your account?”

“No, it seems like it wasn’t hacked at all. I have no idea what was going on. I changed all my info on it and let them know someone was on it, but that’s about it. I don’t want to lose my stuff.”

“Yeah, that sucks.”

Ryou hummed. “You’re pretty far away from the town too so it would be weird to have someone come all the way out there just to play a game and steal and break your headset.”

“Yeah… it just feels… personal. I don't know.”

They were all quiet for awhile then Ryou sighed, “So how are you liking the place?”

“I was loving it, but now I'm not so sure.”

“Why?” Ryou gasped. “You were head over heels for it when we talked last.”

“I… I don’t know. It’s probably nothing. Never mind.”

“Ooooohhhh no. You have to tell me. What happened?”

“You know how me and you spent like a week digging into the history of this place and making sure no one died in it?”

“Sure do! It was fun!”

“Yeah well, we must’ve missed something.”

Joey laughed. “Ya think it’s haunted?”

“Yes and no. Nothing’s happening to Seto that I know of. There’s no crazy noises in the attic or things flying across the room stuff. It's just… my stuff is going missing or moving around the house. Rooms feel cold when I walk in or walk out. I feel like someone’s watching me, all the time, in every room, no matter where I go. And I keep feeling someone touching my hair.” Yuugi sighed. All of that didn’t make any sense and he felt stupid for bringing it up.

“Wow… yeah. I… wow.”

“Whaddaya mean someone's touchin’ your hair?”

“Like-” he chewed his bottom lip then sighed- “I don’t know. Like Seto does. I keep feeling like someone’s touching my hair. I don’t know how to explain it. It sounds stupid. Let’s just change the subject.”

No one said a word and the sounds of the game stopped being background noise, until Joey snickered, “Are ya sure it ain’t him?”

“Urgh! This is why I don't want to say anything.”

“I believe you, Yuugi. We’ll be there in a few days and I’ll look through it with you. Maybe we can do something to make you feel safer okay? Hang in there.”

“Thanks Ryou.”

“I’ll actually be there tomorrow,” Joey said.

“Why? We’re not-”

“Nah, I’m visitin’ my aunt. Well, she ain’t exactly my aunt. She’s dad’s AA sponsor. He’s been livin’ with her the last few months. Wanted ta check in on him ya know? You’d love her Yuug’. She’s one tough broad. Could probably kick my ass if she wanted ta and she’s fuckin’ old.”

Yuugi laughed and nodded, despite no one seeing him. “She sounds amazing!”

“She wants ta meet ya. And Kaiba for some fuckin’ reason.”

Yuugi laughed. “Because he’s amazing.”

“He’s a fuckin’ dick, but whatever ya say. You’re the one sleepin’ with him.”

“Exactly.”

“So yeah, if ya get freaked out or whatever, just come out.”

“Thank you, Joey. You’re the best!”

“Right?”

They played for several hours until Seto came back in the front door. Yuugi said his goodbyes and turned the system off, getting up from the sofa. “So, how did it go?”

Seto smirked at him and walked into the kitchen. “They’re moving in now. I got conned into helping.”

Yuugi giggled. “Conned?”

“Yes. Conned. She made me wait until I moved all of her heavier furniture before she’d finish signing the papers.”

“She’s smart,” he said, getting up from the sofa and following him into the kitchen, “I’m surprised you fell for that.”

“She didn't have anyone to help her move. The guy who was helping her was an asshole to the kids so I made him leave. And that-” he said, pointing to the dry erase board- “needs to get thrown away.”

“Hey! You agreed to it.”

“I did not.”

“What’s wrong with ‘baby cakes’?”

“Everything Yuugi. I can’t even begin to describe all the things that are wrong with that slur.”

He laughed, walking over to the board to erase it. “Fine. So you kicked out her help and got roped into helping? Since when do you care if someone has to move their own things?”

“Since her son started talking to me about your game for the last three hours.”

Yuugi laughed. “Which one?”

“Does it matter? All three of them had something to say about it,” Seto scoffed, walking around the kitchen to get a glass and filled it with water. 

“So what I’m hearing is you need a back massage.”

Seto glanced at him over his shoulder. “Maybe.” Then he turned back to the counter drinking the water. 

Yuugi smiled at him and moved to the hallway leaning back into the kitchen. “Offers going once.”

He took a few more steps towards their bedroom, glancing back over his shoulder at the empty hallway. “Going twice.”

He started to turn towards his gaming room, when Seto grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs. 

  
\---

“What?”

Yuugi sighed, pulling his pillow closer to his shoulder. “Nothing.”

Seto blinked slowly, looking as unamused as possible. “… You’re staring at me.”

“I’m allowed to stare at you.”

“Not like that.”

Yuugi giggled. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to look at you like anything.”

“Well you are. What are you thinking?”

What was he thinking? He was uncomfortable, scared, nervous, and alone. He hated that most. He felt alone; even laying there with Seto staring directly at him as close as he could get. It wasn’t his fault, he knew that much, and he wasn’t sure how to fix it. He sighed through his nose, watching Seto’s smirk fall to a concerned frown. 

He moved forward and pressed a kiss on his nose. “Are you going to answer me?”

“I’m thinking.”

“About?”

“I just… I don’t know.”

“You do know.”

“I guess I’m-” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, then opened them. “Okay. Promise you won’t make fun of me.”

Seto smirked and didn’t answer.

“That’s not helping.”

“I promise not to intentionally make fun of you.”

“That’s not helping either.”

“Just tell me.”

“Okay… I’m pretty sure the house is haunted.”

Seto started laughing then stopped and cleared his throat when Yuugi glared at him. 

“You promised.”

“I said I promised not to make fun of you intentionally. That was involuntary.” He started to laugh again, but managed to hold it in. “Why do you think that? Nothing is happening here that would possibly make you jump to that conclusion.”

“I keep feeling things in my hair.” When Seto smiled back at him, as condescending as he could possibly muster, Yuugi growled, “I’m serious.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“Fine. I’ll cut my hair then we won’t have that problem.”

Seto’s smile softened and he looked up at his hair. “Don’t do that.”

“I’m being serious... I’m thinking about it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know how to explain it.” He wrinkled his nose, looking down at the edge of the pillow while he tried to think. “It’s kind of like someone’s smelling my hair or touching it like you do, but it’s not you.”

“What do you mean ‘like I do’?”

Yuugi felt his face heat up and he shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know. You do that all the time.”

“So why are you saying ‘like I do’?”

“Urgh! I don’t know! It’s just like you. That’s all I’ve got.”

Seto looked him over for a moment as if he were actually thinking about it and it made Yuugi feel a little better. All the way up til he smirked at him again. “Why would a ghost mimic me touching your hair?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you sure you don’t just miss me?”

Yuugi blushed even darker and blew in his face while he laughed. “It’s not funny.”

“It actually is.”

“No it’s not.”

“You’re so in love with me you think I’m touching your hair when I'm not even in the room. Yes, that is funny.”

Yuugi laughed, flustered and embarrassed, and shoved him, fully intending on pushing him off the bed. “That’s not it.”

Seto tried to say something while he was laughing, fighting with him to keep from falling off the bed. He almost got him to the edge when Seto sat up and effortlessly tackled him to the bed. “I’m flattered by your obsessive love complex with me touching your hair, if it makes you feel any better.”

“I’m telling you we have a ghost,” Yuugi laughed, trying to push him off, “It’s not me.”

“Whatever you say.” 

Yuugi continued to laugh as Seto leaned down and kissed his neck, still trying to get free when his laughter was silenced by a loud bang and crash. Seto sat up and looked towards the bedroom door, Yuugi shot up too. Before he got a chance to say anything Seto turned and smirked at him. “If you say ‘see I told you so’ I’ll take my shirt back.”

Yuugi wrapped his arms around it so tight he hurt himself and giggled. “I don’t need to. You said it for me.”

Another loud bang pulled their attention to the door. Yuugi swallowed the lump in his throat, watching Seto get up out of bed. He walked to the door and put his hand on the handle, turning back to look at him. “Just going to sit there, huh?”

“You got this.”

He opened the door and smirked back at him. “Sure you won’t miss me so much you feel me touching your hair while I’m gone?”

Yuugi muttered a few curses at him and climbed out of bed, following after him. He was lucky he loved him… and lucky he didn’t want that to happen while Seto wasn’t in the room. Downstairs into the kitchen Seto flipped on the light and hummed, looking at the basement door. Yuugi walked over to it too and looked down.

On the stairs, two of Seto’s coffee mugs lay shattered, littering each step as they’d crashed to the bottom. Yuugi didn’t know what to say and looked up at Seto, but he didn’t look upset at all. Instead he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass. “Stay there.”

“Oh… Okay.”

He set the glass on its side and let it go. It slowly moved, rolling with gaining speed towards the basement door from the kitchen counter. Yuugi gasped and reached down to grab it before it made more of a mess downstairs. Seto walked over to the door and closed it, pulling on the handle and banged on it. “We need to get this door fixed.”

“Are you trying to tell me you think the cups just jumped off the counter and rolled down the stairs to a basement when the door was definitely closed?”

Seto turned to him and smirked. “It’s just as good a theory as your hair.”

“I regret saying anything.”

“I don’t.” He wrapped his arm around him and led him back down the hall.

\---

Yuugi smiled at Marla looking at Seto with a ‘yeah I get it’ smirk while he explained how the register and security systems worked. He wondered why she didn’t say anything, but she just let him go; making sure to look super serious and interested when he was looking at her. He giggled, getting a glare from Seto, but it was totally worth it. Seto was right, Marla was perfect.

“Where are the boys?” Yuugi asked.

Marla glanced up at him and beamed. “Their father’s for the weekend. I wanted to make sure I got the swing of things before I added three gremlins to the mix.”

“Ugh! Now I want to watch that movie. Maybe the boys will watch it with me when they get back.”

“They’d love it.”

“Are either of you paying any attention?” Seto looked up from the computer, leveling him with a glare. “You need to know this too, Yuugi.”

“Oh uh…” He smiled sheepishly and walked up to the counter. 

Seto shook his head and waved for Marla to use it first. She expertly replicated everything Seto did with the same smug smirk. His scowl only deepened when she turned to him beaming. “What do you think?”

“I think I should fire you.”

“I think you should give me a raise.”

Yuugi laughed, taking a step back to walk around the counter.

_ “Yuugi?” _

His laughter died and he strained to hear it again. He thought he heard his name coming from down the hall. Turning to look at the empty hallway, he heard nothing but his heart beating rapidly in his ears. He took a hesitant step closer to the hall. “Hello?”

He glanced over at Seto and Marla, but she was busy asking him a question about the room keys that he had a feeling she shouldn’t be asking. He shrugged his shoulders, taking one last look down the hall. Still nothing there, so he turned.

_ “Yuugi.” _

He jumped back, staring wide eyed down the empty hallway, petrified. He could  _ feel _ someone peeking at him through the slits in the room doors. Swore he saw eyes hidden by the shadows, looking for him. Watching him. Beckoning.

“Hey. You alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Marla said, leaning over the counter to reach out and brush the tips of her fingers on his arm. 

“I uh… Yeah, I’m fine. I-I swore I heard my name.”

“Renovated or not this house still creaks. Are you sure it wasn’t that?”

Yuugi turned to her, saying, “if we have a door here that creaks and it sounds like  _ my _ name, we need to burn it,” so painfully serious she burst into laughter.

Seto sighed and shook his head. 

“I’m not joking. My name does  _ not _ sound like a normal door creaking or even floor boards.”

“I'll give you that,” she chortled and patted him on the shoulder. “I know how hard it is to start up a business. You guys need to take some time away from this place. Go into town while you still can. There’s a car show and the shops along main street are having a pre-season sale. Go check it out. I’ll hold down the fort.”

Seto visibly hated everything about that idea. “Marla I don’t-”

“I’ve got this. Get out of here.”

“But what if-”

“Go! This is the last day before we start getting a ton of snow. Get out of here.”

Yuugi giggled and let her push him towards the door past Seto then all out laughed when she pushed him out too and closed the door behind them. He watched her dust her hands off and walk back to the desk through the glass doors and sighed, “Guess we have a day off.”

Seto hummed and started to walk towards the car.

“You have a good eye for employees.”

“Sometimes. That one’s debatable,” Seto rounded the hood of the car, reaching into his pocket for the keys, “Are you sure you want to go to that? We can go anywhere.”

Yuugi opened his door, glancing up at him as he got in. “It actually sounds fun and we should meet more people from the area, right?”

Yuugi watched Seto open the door and put a foot inside, when he stopped suddenly. He blinked, frowning and looked back at the doors, but he didn't see anything that Seto would stop for. “What’s wrong? Did you change your mind?”

He shifted and sat down in the driver's seat, scowling out the window towards the bed and breakfast doors. Then he squinted. “I thought I saw something.”

Yuugi sank into the seat, hesitantly looking back over at the doors, but he still didn’t see anything. “What?”

“The curtain moved from Marla shutting the door,” he commented, starting the car and putting it into gear. 

But Yuugi didn’t believe that at all. He stared at the bed and breakfast as they drove away.

\---

“Oh wow!” Yuugi moved around one of the shops full of handmade quilts and blankets. “I need this one!”

“Need?”

“It’s freezing in our house.”

“I could buy you 10 blankets for the price of that one.”

Yuugi beamed at him, pulling the heavy quilt off the stand and holding it in his arms. “Not with little magicians and magic hats all over it!”

He rolled his eyes and smiled, watching him take the blanket to the checkout counter. “I probably could.”

“Not one that’s made with love!” 

He shook his head, following him to the counter where an older lady stood beaming back at Yuugi. “‘Made with love’. Now that’s something I haven’t heard in this shop in years.”

Yuugi smiled brighter and she gave him his total, lower than the cost listed on the blanket even with the sale. “Oh I don’t-”

“Made with love, given with love.”

He smiled back at her and gave her the money for it. Kaiba snickered at the triumphant grin on his face walking out of the shop with the over seized blanket stuffed in his arms. “I hope you’re happy. You still could've had 4 other blankets for that.”

“Not with magicians, love, and haggling props.”

He brushed his hand over Yuugi’s back and they walked down the sidewalk, looking in the shops they passed. He turned him, ushering him towards another shop he knew Yuugi would like when a loud familiarly irritating voice called to them, “Hey! What’re ya doin’ out here?! Don’t ya got shit ta do?”

“Joey!” Yuugi turned and took a few steps towards him, lifting up the blanket triumphantly. “Look what I got!”

Joey squinted at it then started laughing, “You’re such a dork.”

“What? It’s always cold at the house.”

“Sure sure.”

Kaiba looked up and recognized Joey’s father, but the woman next to him did not. She had short curly salt and pepper hair, pinned up and a silk pale pink blouse and wide leg dress slacks. No make up, square jaw line, a stone faced expression that would probably put his to shame. She gave of a ‘don’t fuck with me’ aura even in the pink blouse. He gave her credit for that.

Mr. Wheeler nodded to Kaiba, like he usually did. The woman, however, walked right up to him, looked him over with narrowed eyes then held her hand out to him. “I hear you ’re  Seto Kaiba. Name’s Ivy-Rose.”

He held his hand out to her and fought a smirk at how firm she shook his hand. Then it clicked. “You’re Joey’s aunt.”

She grinned then, and nodded proudly. “Sure am.” Then she turned to Yuugi, her grin disappeared and she frowned at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

Yuugi blinked, taken aback and stuttered, trying to answer her. She walked up to him, reaching into her pocket, and pulled out a little spray bottle and started spraying him with it. He coughed and jumped back. Joey and his father laughed.

“What is that stuff?”

“Crystal water. You got something evil going on with you.”

Joey nudged him, still laughing. “She did that ta me too. Ivy’s superstitious.”

“Prepared,” she corrected and pocketed the bottle. “You should really see someone about that.”

“About what?”

“The… whatever it is attached to you.” 

Yuugi seemed to lock up like he was buying into it. Kaiba started to tell him to ignore her, but she waved at Yuugi dismissively then gestured to the car show down the street. “Did you see the show?”

“Yeah, we just came from there.”

“Did you see my baby?” She grinned. “The Chevy Corvair? Had her since she was brand new. Now that’s a car.”

“Wow! That’s yours?”

She nodded and stood up taller. “Yep. Kept her all these years. We’re going to pick her up now.”

“Then we’re havin’ dinner,” Joey said. 

“You should come over. We have plenty,” she said, glancing up at Kaiba then started walking down the street.

He hated everything about that idea but Yuugi was the one to say something first. “Oh, well, we have to get back an-”

“We’ll meet you guys at the house. You better show them where it is Joey.”

“Uh, I mean, they probab-” he sighed and shook his head, realizing she wasn’t listening to him at all. “Well fuck. Sorry.”

Yuugi giggled and hugged the blanket to his chest. “It’s alright.” He looked up at Kaiba and smiled. “Do you want to go? I think we’re stuck with Joey either way.”

He rolled his eyes and started walking back to their car. “Marla won’t let us back in anyway.”

He laughed, nodding, and nudged Joey. “Come on.”


	4. Chapter Three

“Let me come with you,” Yuugi pleaded, wrapping his arms around him so he couldn’t get up off the bed. “I’m awake.”

Seto groaned and smirked down at him. “I see that, but it's 5 in the morning. Go back to sleep. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

He laid back down and sighed, wrapping the covers and his new blanket up over his shoulders. “I know but… I just don’t want to be alone.”

Seto sat down on the bed and brushed his bangs back behind his ear. “There’s nothing here. You’ll be fine.”

“There  _ is _ something here.”

He sighed in annoyance and looked up at the door then back down at him. “How about this? You need to sleep. Go back to sleep. If you still feel uncomfortable, I’m right on the other side of the house. Just go over there. Try to sleep.”

“I’m just… Ivy said-”

He groaned and pushed himself up from the bed.

“I’m serious Seto. There’s something going on here. I don’t know why it’s only happening to me, but something’s here.”

“Are you trying to tell me you and Ryou made a mistake?” Seto mocked and it pissed him off.

He glared back at him, but couldn't think of a single retort to that.

“Nothing is here. No one’s touching your hair, but me, and nothing’s going to hurt you. This is our house, right?”

“Right...”

“The only way you’re going to get over this is to face it. Nothing is here. You’re not going to get hurt. You have  _ nothing  _ to be afraid of.” Seto gestured to their bedroom wall in the direction of the B&B. “I’m literally next door. Just go there if you can’t sleep, but you can’t continue being afraid in your own house.”

He didn’t like it, felt it was a little insensitive (not that Seto was sensitive to anything else really), but he had a point. He hated that he had a point, but he did have a point. Yuugi shrank back against the headboard sighing, “Yeah…”

He stared down at the foot of the bed, only catching glimpses of Seto walking around the room. He assumed he was leaving and closed his eyes, locking his jaw. Now he felt really alone. His friends didn’t believe him, Seto didn’t believe him. It was just him and whatever it was in the house. Unfortunately, he felt the mysterious something was going to win. 

When the bed shifted, his eyes shot open startling both him and Seto. He frowned and looked him over with genuine concern. For some stupid reason that made him feel better. “I’m right next door.”

“I know.”

He kept searching his face like he was waiting for him to relax. Ha! It’d be a cold day in hell before that. “Don’t sleep too long. We’ll go out and get lunch. I think you just need to get out of the house and away from crazy people with spray bottles.”

Yuugi felt his lips curl and leaned into Seto’s touch when he cupped his face. “Only if we get cheeseburgers this time.”

Seto groaned and got up from the bed, crossing the room without another word. He giggled as the door slammed behind him. At least he had something to look forward to.

Half past 11, Kaiba looked up at the front doors grumbling under his breath. He didn’t want to eat that nasty food Yuugi seemed to love so much, but a deal was a deal. “Marla. I’m taking Yuugi out for lunch. Will you be alright?”

“Ha! Of course I will.”

He rolled his eyes and started to walk towards the door when he heard a loud bang against the wall connecting their house to the B&B. He frowned, pausing mid step to stare at the wall. When he didn’t hear anything else, he shrugged it off, thinking maybe Yuugi accidentally hit it or tripped, but one step towards the front doors and he saw Yuugi bolting toward them white as a sheet. He ran into the doors, ignoring them slamming against the wall, and practically tackled him. Stumbling back, Kaiba tried to keep his balance, but that was a waste of time. Yuugi’s knees buckled and it sent them both sinking to the floor. 

Marla ran over and put her hand on Yuugi’s back, just as shocked as he was. “What happened?”

“Something’s there! I couldn’t move. I couldn’t-” Yuugi sobbed, shaking like a leaf.

He waited for Yuugi to calm down in the lobby, but after a while he realized that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Yuugi was terrified. His trembling reminded him of the day he ran into his office covered in conditioner. He swept him up and carried him down the hall to one of the vacant rooms he liked better with his awful choice in curtains. He usually felt more comfortable around tacky stuff like that. If nothing else, it would be a great way to harass him about it to get him to calm down. He tried to sit him down on the bed and sit with him but Yuugi wouldn’t let him go so he ended up laying sideways on the bed with him, gently rubbing circles over his back telling him he didn't need to be afraid, he wasn’t alone, and whatever it was that happened was over.

Kaiba spent a good couple hours with Yuugi trying to calm him down. He just wasn’t making any sense; ‘something was there’ ‘something trapped him so he couldn’t move’ and ‘something touched him’. Couldn’t get out what the something was or what he meant by ‘touched him’ either, but in the end that wasn’t really what worried him. He’d never seen him like this before. He could always get him to calm down and look at things more logically, sometimes took a bit, but he didn't fight him tooth and nail. He fought tooth and nail this time, adamantly insisted on what happened and just mentioning the prospect of there being a reasonable explanation sent him back into trembling and panicking. The whole point, regardless of what actually happened, was Yuugi was terrified and felt unsafe in the house, especially by himself. Since he couldn’t just leave, he ended up calling Joey to come get Yuugi. He might be useless 9 times out of 10 but he knew he’d take care of Yuugi while he figured out what was going on. 

He followed Yuugi out to Joey’s car and helped him inside. Yuugi sniffled, refusing to let go of his sleeve at first. He knelt down beside him and squeezed his wrist. “Stay at Ivy’s as long as you need to.”

“What about you? I don’t want you here, what if something happens?”

He smirked. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I have plausible deniability.”

Yuugi laughed through his tears and wrapped his arm around his neck. 

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. If you still feel this way, we’ll look into selling it.”

Yuugi leaned back and blinked, “But… what about-”

“Regardless of what happened,” he started with a frustrated sigh, “I won’t make you stay somewhere that makes you this upset.”

Yuugi nodded and hiccuped. “Okay.”

Surprisingly, Joey didn't make a comment to that; any of that. 

He stood up and backed away, shutting the door for Yuugi and watched them drive away. He went back to the bed and breakfast, taking Marla’s place for the rest of the evening trying to think of what could’ve happened that caused all that. Then he went back home, searching through the entire thing, top to bottom, bedroom to basement for anything, but came up with nothing. Still unnerved by how upset Yuugi was, he didn’t think sleep was possible at that point. He went into his office, hoping he still had enough invoices and receipts to file away to make him tired or at the very least, less anxious. 

The headache he had wasn’t helping. 

The more he tried to focus on the small print, the worse his headache became. He ended up turning the main light out and only had his lamp on, then that became too much as well. He turned it off and laid his head on his desk, the dark and the cool surface helped. He turned his head, trying to get more comfortable when he focused on the picture on the corner of his desk from when they got married. He wasn't sure why he kept it on his desk. He hated all of their wedding pictures, hated that day, hated the bad memories tied to that day, hated what it represented and what it led to. 

He sighed, closing his eyes. 

He remembered the day Mokuba sat in the passenger seat of the car when they came back from the doctor’s office. He was crying. Nothing he could say to him would make him feel any better. Nothing could be said to make either of them feel any better. Mokuba’s cancer had spread. There was nothing they could do, nothing anyone could do. He remembered parking the car and staring out the windshield thinking of what to say when Mokuba turned to him, asking for a final request. The one thing he wanted before he died. He wanted him to marry Yuugi. And he wanted that because he wanted to make sure that after he was gone, someone would take care of him. He remembered telling him no, saying he wasn’t going anywhere and that was a stupid last request even if he was. 

He ended up doing it when Mokuba started getting sicker by the hour; repeating every second of every day that’s all he wanted. So he did it. And that day was the second, no maybe third worst day of his life. He spent the whole day, bitter at being forced into something he didn’t want to do, hating that everyone was so happy (there was nothing to be happy about), and furious that Mokuba was sick, but everyone was treating him like he was the healthiest one there. He made that day horrible for Yuugi; horrible for Mokuba and each picture taken that day screamed it. It got to the point where he drank too much and ended up in a huge fight with Joey, no surprise there, but the big surprise was he was right to fight with him in the first place. He told him he was being a dick on what was supposed to be the best day of Yuugi’s life and the one thing that Mokuba wanted and might have said something about him acting like a spoiled kid. It escalated from there. 

He smirked at the picture, remembering Yuugi jumping in and stopping them from beating the shit out of each other and actually told Joey to leave him alone. He told Joey the truth.

That led into the worst day of his life; losing Mokuba. It wasn’t even a week later, but then, he wouldn’t say it was the worst. He didn't even feel it. He just kept doing everything he normally did. Looking back on it now, he could see what was happening. He couldn’t then for nothing. He couldn’t see he didn’t eat or sleep or talk to anyone or move. He couldn’t see it. He couldn’t see how his company suffered or how the people around him suffered. When he did finally see it, it was so much of a shock he couldn’t handle it. Two years later, he still felt like he did then; they should’ve just let him go. 

It wasn’t fair for Mokuba to ask Yuugi to deal with him like he did. And it wasn’t fair that he made it so hard for him because Mokuba asked. He couldn’t take it back. It would still be easier on everyone to just go. He’d see Mokuba again and Yuugi wouldn’t be stuck where he was. 

He frowned and rolled his forehead onto the desk screwing his eyes shut. He should get up. He needed to get up. 

The soft chattering of a mouse made him lift his head. But it wasn’t a mouse. It was a rat. The same one that he saw in the kitchen, sitting on his desk sniffing the air, then moving over to eat the papers he had his head laying on. This was different medicine. Why was he seeing a rat? He reached out slowly and touched it. The rat shook its head, then its whole body, continuing to eat the paper. He could feel him. He’s real? He frowned and turned to face the rat still nibbling away and squeaking. This wasn’t just a rat. He was used to people, used to contact. Was he someone's pet? How did he get in here? “I should’ve put in a clause about pets. I bet you belong to one of the boys, don’t you?”

The rat kept squeaking and then moved around the desk to find something else to eat. 

A shadowed hand reached up from the other side of the desk and grabbed the rat, pulling him off the desk and into the darkness… just like in the kitchen. He sat up slowly, staring wide eyed at the darkness on the other side of his desk. He started to reach for the lamp when two dirty hands appeared on the desk, then a face slowly lifting up from behind it.

He couldn’t breathe. 

He didn't know whether he was real or not, and he definitely didn't look real. His eyes were black, like he dipped them in ink that ran down his cheeks. His hands covered and stained in black ink too, under his nails and the palms of his hands. His lips ghostly pale but looked like he had ink in his mouth. The expression on his face made him sit instead of run. He looked hurt and furious and lost. This was probably a hallucination. 

But he didn’t want to bank on that. 

Not that it would matter either way. What was he going to do? Kill him? Good luck. He looked him over again, noticing the shirt he was wearing. It was Yuugi’s favorite shirt that he couldn’t find. At least 4 sizes too big on either of them, and it hung off his shoulder just like it did Yuugi. It had the name of his favorite band that he still didn't know the name of or remember anything about it. The shirt was so tattered, faded and washed out the name wasn’t even there anymore. His shoulder looked bruised and stained with ink as well. Hauntingly pale like the rest of him. He made the mistake of looking back up at his eyes and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He braced himself to run out of there or turn on the lamp at the very least, when something moved in his hair. The rat from his desk sat on top of his head, moving his hair to the side to get a better look, then sniffed the air and squeaked. 

In that moment, the haunting danger he felt before, disappeared. In his hair, tangled in his hair, staged in his fucking hair, was all of the things Yuugi made comments about missing: his stuffed Magician doll, the cat his grandfather gave him from a trip to Egypt, his favorite chapstick that he kept complaining about missing, his eyeliner brush that he was furiously digging through the whole bathroom for, his favorite cookie cutter that Kaiba got him for his birthday as a joke in place of his real present that he gave him later that day, the headset that went missing and  _ his _ pen that Yuugi always stole because he liked it better. Looking at his mess of tangles, kinks and curls, everything was starting to make sense. That either meant this was real and he was actually there or this hallucination was detailed… and he leaned back to take in all of what looked like a shrine to Yuugi with a rat in his hair. 

He couldn’t stop it if he tried. He laughed so hard it hurt. The growing frustration in his face just made him laugh harder. He was still laughing when he pushed back his chair and stood up to head toward the kitchen, the guy with the rat's nest for hair leaning back and watching him. 

“I'm getting a drink.” He kept snickering and laughing as he made his way to the kitchen. “This is a sad way to lose it.” 

He laughed again, opening the pantry and grabbed a bottle of scotch. He set it on the island then got a glass from the cabinet and put an ice cube inside. Sitting at the island, he poured himself a drink. Should he drink on medication while he’s first taking it? No. Did he care at this point? No. 

He sat and waited, wondering if the guy with the rat would come into the kitchen or if he was just hallucinating in his office. Nothing happened, so he glanced back at the doorway to the dark living room. Kaiba saw a hand creep around the corner by the light switch, stained with ink and dirty, and switched off the lights. “How am I supposed to see anything?”

A light came in in the hallway on the other side of the kitchen. That was better, he supposed. He turned back to the island where his glass was and almost fell backwards. The guy with the rat in his hair sat cross legged on the island, the oversized shirt hardly covering for the fact that he wasn’t wearing pants. He pushed off the island and stood up, gesturing to all of him and turned away. “Don’t move.”

He grabbed his glass of scotch and walked down the hallway to the storage closet. If he remembered right, he had a pair of pants in there that Yuugi shrunk to hell that he could wear. He dug through it, sloshing the scotch which made him disappointed, but he did find them. He came back into the kitchen, honestly surprised he was still there sitting on the island with the rat on his knee now. He held out the pants for him and he looked at them. “Put them on. You can’t walk around in just that shirt.”

He glanced up at him, then the pants, then looked down at himself like he didn’t want to. Why not?! He threw them at him. He could either wear them or not. He wasn’t holding them all day. Without much option he waited until he decided what to do, leaning back on the counter and sipping the scotch. Glancing towards the pantry they thought maybe he’d grab the bottle of whiskey Joey left with them and they never opened. It was a good time for that. A quick look at the rat’s nest guy, putting the pants on, he decided he still had time. He walked towards the pantry to grab the whiskey. It was in the back and he had to really reach up on the top to grab it, but he did. When he turned back around, the rat guy was gone.

“Well so much for that.”

He sat back down at the island and downed the rest of the scotch. It made him cough and scrunch his nose, not a drink to shoot like that, but he needed the glass. He poured the whiskey into it, filling it almost to the top when he felt something pull on his sleeve. Looking over, he sighed in disappointment. The guy with the rat was back and sitting on the stool beside him with a notepad. He pulled a pen out of his hair and set it down on the notepad. Then just... stared at it. 

Kaiba glanced between the notepad and him, wondering what the fuck he wanted him to do about it. “Well?”

He looked up at him. 

“You grabbed the pen and the paper. Write something.”

He shook his head slowly and stared down at the paper. 

“Fine. What the hell are you wanting me to write?”

He smiled softly then mouthed ‘a’ ‘b’ ‘c’ going through the whole alphabet until the end then nodded his head and then shook his head and lifted fingers for numbers.

“You want me to- You know what? Fuck it.”

So he did. Wrote out the whole alphabet in big letters so he could read it then wrote yes and no at the bottom, numbers over the top before tearing off the paper and setting it in front of him. “There.”

He smiled and nodded, holding onto the doll in his hair when it shifted. Then he pointed to the paper. ‘P-R-E-T-T-Y’.

“What’s pretty?”

‘W-R-I-T-I-N-G’

He wrinkled his nose and looked away from him, but he pulled on his sleeve again. 

‘H-E-L-L-O’

“It’s a little late for that.”

‘N-E-V-E-R’

He scoffed and brought the glass to his lips. “Who the hell are you?”

He hesitated, staring at the paper. ‘I D-O-N-T K-N-O-W’

“Don’t know who you are or don’t know your name?”

‘N-A-M-E’

“Do you know my name?”

‘K-A-I-B-A’

“Close enough,” he scoffed, shaking his head, then took a drink.

‘W-H-E-R-E I-S Y-U-U-G-I’

He quirked a brow and tapped his finger on the glass. “I don’t know.”

‘O’

“Why do you want to know?”

‘S-C-A-R-E-D H-I-M’

Well that made sense. “What did you do?”

‘I D-O-N-T K-N-O-W’

“You don’t know? You scared him, but you don’t know?”

‘Yes’

He pointed to his ‘rats nest Yuugi shrine for hair’ while holding the glass and leaned on the island. “Why do you have all of his stuff?”

‘L-I-K-E H-I-M’

“You like him?”

‘Yes’

His light snickering turned into a deep laugh. “Sure.”

He pointed something out, but Kaiba was too busy taking a long swig of whiskey to see it. When he turned back to the paper, he glared at him and pointed at the letters angrily.

‘I D-O’

“I very clearly see that, but the word I’d use is obsessed.”

He scowled down at the paper, looking over the letters, but didn’t point at anything, like he was trying to think of a way to say he wasn’t, but didn’t have anything. 

“So you’re the one doing dishes and other things around the house that I keep getting ‘thank yous’ for?”

‘Yes’

“Why are you doing all of that?”

‘S-E-E Y-O-U’

“See me?”

‘H-E L-I-K-E-S W-H-E-N Y-O-U D-O’

“There are other things you can do. Why are you doing things I do?”

‘O-T-H-E-R T-H-I-N-G-S’

Kaiba furrowed his brow. He kept staring back at him with excitement like he had all the answers for him. “What are you talking about? Haven’t you ever met anyone else before?”

He shrank back into the chair and pointed at ‘No’, keeping his finger there.

“So you’ve been trying to talk to Yuugi this whole time and done what? Besides that? How did you scare him?”

‘W-H-I-C-H T-I-M-E’

“I’d say all of them, but that’s going to take a while for you to explain… uh… was it you who was on his account?”

‘Yes’

“Why did you ask about Mokuba?”

‘C-U-R-I-O-U-S’

“That’s not about Yuugi. Why do you want to know?”

He hesitated again, then picked up the pen, stuffing it into his hair.

‘L-I-K-E Y-O-U’

“That I don’t see.”

‘B-A-D A-D-V-I-C-E’

“Someone gave you bad advice?”

‘U’

He laughed and rubbed his temple, then turned back to his drink to finish the glass off and pour another. “I gave you bad advice. How? I didn’t even know you existed until now and I'm still not convinced you do.”

‘W-A-T-C-H Y-O-U’

“That’s creepy.”

He just stared at him like he didn't understand.

‘H-E L-I-K-E Y-O-U’

“That’s debatable.”

‘L-O-V-E-S Y-O-U’

Yes he did. Kaiba still had no idea why, but yes. He did.

‘D-O W-H-A-T Y-O-U D-O’ he paused and smiled at the paper ‘L-O-V-E M-E T-O-O’

As adorable and twisted and convoluted as that really was he didn’t know where to start unpacking all of that horrible logic, so he just drank more of the whiskey hoping he’d disappear at some point or Yuugi would come home for some reason and tell him he was hallucinating and needed to go to the hospital, but neither happened. “You can’t do what I do and expect him to like you.”

‘W-H-Y N-O-T’

“Because that's not how people work, first of all. Second of all, I’m his husband. I’ve spent years with him getting to know him and him getting to know me for any of that to mean anything aside from an invasion of privacy and personal space.”

He frowned at him like he had no idea what that meant and Kaiba groaned, picking the glass up and drinking it again. 

He looked down at the paper, appearing to be thinking then shifted on the bar stool.

‘H-O-W N-O-T S-C-A-R-E H-I-M’

“I don’t understand what you’re asking.”

‘I S-C-A-R-E-D H-I-M’

“Well… I don’t know.”

He nodded, clearly disappointed. 

Kaiba looked him over, grinning at his hair. He just couldn’t get over how ridiculous he looked with Yuugi’s things in his hair like that and the shirt off his shoulder. If Yuugi saw him, he doubted he’d be afraid of him at all. Maybe that was part of the problem. “Can he see you?”

‘No’

“Why not? I can see you.”

‘D-O-N-T K-N-O-W’

“I’m sure if he could see you and knew you were there just to talk to him, he wouldn’t be afraid of you. Just don’t touch him.”

‘H-O-W’

“You can do this with him.”

‘E-X-H-A-U-S-T-I-N-G’

“Hmmm.” He thought about how to help him out with that then wondered why he was trying to help him in general then started to wonder why he was even talking to him. He probably wasn’t real. He downed that glass of whiskey and poured another one, starting to finally feel its effects. 

‘W-H-O I-S M-O-K-U-B-A’

He sighed, glaring at the paper then looked back at his drink. “My little brother.”

‘W-H-E-R-E’

“He’s dead. He died two years ago from cancer.”

‘S-O-R-R-Y’

“Yeah...”

‘W-A-N-T S-E-E H-I-M S-E-E M-E’

He glanced up at him and sighed, “Probably.”

‘H-E W-A-N-T S-E-E M-E S-E-E M-E’

“Let it go. You’ll be lucky if he steps foot in here. Especially if you did what I think you did.”

He winced and shrunk to the counter. 

Kaiba was well on his way to drinking more of the whiskey when he noticed he was pointing out something else.

‘W-H-Y Y-O-U N-O-T M-A-D’

“Mad about what?”

‘L-I-K-E H-I-M’

He laughed and shook his head. “You’re not exactly alive. Or even real. And even if you were, this is just pathetic.” He glared at him not pointing to anything, but Kaiba shrugged his shoulders. “It’s true.” He looked up at his hair, filled with Yuugi’s things and felt himself smile. “I’d probably do the same thing though. Not the hair. That’s your mess.”

‘L-I-K-E M-Y H-A-I-R’

“I’m sure you do. Yuugi would love it.” The rat started moving around in his hair and climbed down his shoulder across his arm to the island. It moved around, sniffing for something.

‘E-A-T’

“Eat the rat?”

He glared at him ‘No’

“Fine.”

He moved to the pantry and grabbed a loaf of bread, bringing it over to the counter and tossing it on top. The rat jumped then walked up to the bread. He tried eating the bag wrapped around it and he had to pick it up and open it up for him. “Why am I feeding a rat?”

‘C-U-T-E’

“It’s a rat.”

‘M-O-U-S-E’

“No, that’s a rat. Don’t you know the difference?”

‘No’

“It’s bigger and this one was someone's pet. It’s used to people.”

‘M-I-N-E’

“What’s its name?”

‘No’

“You haven’t named it?”

‘No’

“So to sum up my day; my husband came running into the place screaming bloody murder and is probably permanently traumatized with no solid plans of coming back, leaving me in a multi-million dollar house I didn’t want to begin with, in the middle of nowhere, with a nameless rat in my kitchen eating all of my bread, and a nameless hallucination of a personified shrine to Yuugi who likes everything. Is your day going this bad?”

He nodded vigorously then offered him a sympathetic smile.

He scoffed at it and took another swig of the whiskey. “Is there anything you don't like?”

He grinned evilly, and pointed ‘U’

“Cute.”

His shoulders shook with silent laughter and he looked back down at the paper. 

‘C-O-L-D S-I-L-E-N-C-E’

“I don’t know. It has it’s advantages.”

‘1-0-0 Y-E-A-R-S T-O-O M-U-C-H’

He looked at the paper then back up at him. “Is that how long this house was abandoned? It was built about then. Why would it be abandoned brand new?”

‘D-O-N-T R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R’

He stared at him, realizing there was no point in asking him if he could see Mokuba or find him. He was stuck here, alone for the last 100 years or more. Who really knew?. He wouldn't know either way. “What are you?”

He looked up at him, his head tilted to the side and he just kept staring at him. He had the impression he was thinking it over, but it was almost like he was debating on telling him, not that he wasn’t sure. Then he slowly turned back to the paper.

‘S-H-A-D-O-W-S D-A-R-K’

“That’s not what I asked you.”

‘A-S-K M-E’

“Yes ‘ask you’. What the fuck are you? Are you a ghost?”

‘No’

“So you’re not real.”

‘V-E-R-Y R-E-A-L’

“Then what the fuck are you?”

He hesitated, pulling his hands to his chest, like something Yuugi did when he was nervous. Was he picking up that too? Kaiba kept waiting for something to prove what he was seeing was real but the more he talked to him, the more he watched him the more he saw only him and Yuugi in everything he did even how he answered. 

He reached out to the paper and pointed.

‘D’

Kaiba waited, but nothing else. “And?”

‘E’

“Kaiba!”

He jerked up and turned to the doorway to see Joey running inside and flipping on the light. He didn't get a chance to stop him, and when he turned back to the barstool, he was gone. “What the fuck are you doing here Wheeler?”

“Checkin’ on your sorry ass. Are ya okay?”

“What does it look like?”

Yuugi bolted around Joey and ran towards him, throwing his arms over him and spilling his whiskey all over the island top. He tried to save what little he could. It was a good thing it was almost empty anyway. “You’re okay! I looked all over the house for you! Why are you here? It’s not safe in here. We need to go.”

“Why?”

“Did you not hear anything I said to you? Come on, we need to go.”

He pulled on him again and he started to argue with him when Yuugi’s attention snapped to the bread. He turned and saw it rustling around. Well at least the rat was real. That had to count for something. It backed up out of the bag a piece of bread in it’s mouth and Yuugi sucked in a sharp breath to scream. Kaiba chuckled and kissed his hand. “Relax. It’s just a rat.”

“I-it’s huge.”

“Hey! I used ta have a rat like that,” Joey laughed and walked up to the island. “Hey little guy.”

The rat waddled up to him with the bread in his mouth and held it out. Joey laughed and scratched the top of his head. It looked like that’s exactly what the rat wanted; bread and some attention. 

“Why do we have a rat in our kitchen? Is it one of the boy’s pets?”

That’s what he’d thought too. He tapped his glass and poured more whiskey. Yuugi wasn’t paying attention to him at first, not until he had the glass full and started drinking it again. “What are you doing?!”

“Drinking.”

“You can’t dri- you don’t even like that whiskey.”

“Hey that’s the good stuff!” Joey shouted, frowning.

Good stuff. Sure. “It’s shit, but it works and I needed it.”

“Why…” Yuugi breathed, “What happened?”

“Aside from you running into the lobby in hysterics telling me you never wanted to come back here again?”

Yuugi shied away and stared back at the rat. 

That’s not exactly what he meant. He didn’t mean to insinuate he was sitting there drinking a bottle of shitty whiskey because of him. The only way to explain himself was to show him. He huffed and gestured behind him to the light switch. “Wheeler, turn it off.”

“Why?”

“Double checking how good your whiskey is.”

Joey looked at Yuugi. They both shrugged their shoulders and he went back to the light switch flipping it off. The light from the hallway still made the kitchen somewhat visible, but he waited for a while until his eyes adjusted to the dark. Then he shifted on the island, lifting the glass to his lips. “Come get your damn rat.”

“What?”

He watched as an inked hand reached up from the other side of the island and grabbed the rat, pulling it slowly off the counter while it protested to take his bread with him. At first glance, there was nothing gentle about the way he grabbed the rat and pulled him across the countertop, but the longer he watched, he realized he was holding him a certain way, just loose enough for the rat to keep a hold of the bread. Like a child would; rough, but no less loving or friendly. 

Yuugi screamed. 

Joey just stared at it.

He... well, he laughed, because fuck the whole situation. He  _ wasn’t _ hallucinating. 

Joey buried a hand in his hair and looked at him, still laughing at the island. “You’ve fuckin’ lost it, ain’t ya?”

“Maybe.”

“We need to go. We need to go now.” Yuugi pulled on his sleeve again and he looked up at his terrified expression.

“You left me here for 8 hours. Why do you want to go now?”

“I didn't know you’d be here. I thought… I don’t know. We just need to-”

“No we don’t. He’s not doing anything.”

“Not doin-” Yuugi blinked and frowned. “He?”

“I’ve been talking to him for the last hour. All he’s doing is making an idiot of himself.” The room got colder and he snickered. “And you’re still pathetic. You and your fucking rat.”

“Seto!”

“What? It’s true.” He turned to glare at the space between the island and the sink. “Now’s your chance to talk. You wanted to talk. Start talking.” He pushed the paper to the other side of the island and sat back down to drink the whiskey. But nothing moved. Nothing happened. He scoffed and set the glass down. “It’s just Joey. What are you worried about? You already talked to him.”

Joey choked and coughed. “He-he what?”

“He’s the one who was on Yuugi’s account.” 

A hand came up and pointed to some of the letters. He had to lean up to catch them all from the shadow over the paper. “Yes that idiot is frendlyfir30ops.”

Then the hand came up again, pointing to the letters then awkwardly waved before disappearing behind the counter. ‘H-E-L-L-O’

“Yeah… Hey. Fuck. Pour me one of those.”

Kaiba just handed him the bottle. 

Yuugi sank into the barstool next to him, staring at the paper. “I don’t understand. He-he…”

“Do you want to explain it or do you want me to?”

The hand came back up and pointed at the paper ‘U’

“Coward.”

“Musta been a great hour of talkin’ for ya ta already be a dick ta him.”

“He deserves it.”

“This…” Yuugi sighed and fidgeted beside him, “this is a bad idea. We should go.’

‘D-O-N-T G-O’

Yuugi clenched his jaw, staring at the paper then the hand came back up. 

‘L-I-K-E Y-O-U’

“You should show him your hair,” Kaiba said, grinning just thinking about it.

“What?”

Kaiba watched the dark behind the island waiting to see if he’d actually do it. It took a little bit, but then the tips of his hair came up over the edge and all the shit he had in it, but he stopped when his eyes were just over the island counter. Joey jumped back and Yuugi leaned back gasping, “That’s unnerving.”

“You’re not looking at his hair.”

“I see his… wait a minute… that’s my magician and my headphones.”

“And your pen and cat and everything else you've been missing. He’s got your shirt too.”

“Why?”

He kept his eyes on Yuugi and reached up to point at the paper. ‘L-I-K-E Y-O-U’

Yuugi just stared at him, and he could feel him getting more and more upset beside him. So he slid the glass of whiskey over to him. “Don’t do that. He has shitty people skills.”

Joey snorted. “Ya both a pair then. Learnin’ from the best.”

Kaiba wanted to tell Joey to fuck off, but ended up shrugging his shoulders. He was, dare he think it, right this one time. “Actually, that’s exactly what’s happening.” He disappeared back behind the island and Kaiba turned to Yuugi. “He’s learning how to talk to you by what I do.”

“I… well, that… yeah that explains a lot.”

“If I wasn’t here, none of that would've happened. He’d probably pick up more of your friends instead.”

Joey laughed. “Wow that’s gotta be awkward, and on top of that you’re a dick in general.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“So… you just were trying to talk to me?”

The hand came back up. ‘Yes’

“So uh.. Well you know my name I guess. What’s yours?”

“He doesn’t remember and he hasn’t named his rat either.”

“What?! That little guy needs a name.” Joey grinned and leaned on the counter. A dirty stained hand came up with the rat in it, setting him back down on the counter. Kaiba shook his head, watching the rat waddle over to Joey, squeaking. “Man I forgot how much I loved these guys.” He picked him up and he crawled all over his shoulders and up into his hair too. 

Yuugi giggled, relaxing a little bit. “He is cute, I guess.”

“Ya guess? He’s fuckin’ adorable!”

‘Yes’

“You don’t get an opinion on it. He’s your damn rat.”

‘M-I-N-E’

“Exactly.”

“So,” Yuugi said, turning to face the paper. “What do you want? Why are you here?”

Kaiba watched the paper, but nothing happened for a while. “Tired?”

‘Yes’

“Can you answer what you want?”

‘Y-U-U-’

Kaiba yanked the paper away. “Without being creepy.” Then he slid it back.

He lifted himself up from behind the counter, slowly pushed the paper over to Yuugi, and leaned closer with a soft sad smile. ‘F-R-I-E-N-D’

Yuugi was trembling, staring at him then the paper. “I uh… okay.” He smiled and tried to laugh but it sounded more like a nervous huff. “This is really weird.”

Joey snorted, reaching up to pet the rat in his hair. “Yeah it fuckin’ is.”

Yuugi frowned, staring at him still leaning over the counter. He tilted his head, the magician doll shifting in his hair and he had to reach up and put it back. Yuugi laughed softly, but his frown returned. “You scared me.”

He shrunk back to barely visible behind the island and pointed to the paper.

‘S-O-R-R-Y’ ‘L-I-K-E Y-O-U’

Yuugi blushed, he could see it even in the dark, and he lifted his shoulders. “Thank you.” He looked up at his hair and giggled, before looking at his face. “I like you too.”

Kaiba watched him beam at Yuugi then shrink down behind the counter, pointing at the paper. ‘N-I-G-H-T’

“Good night.”

He held his hand out and Joey jumped. “Oh shit sorry.” He laughed, taking the rat from his hair and setting him down on the island. 

He grabbed the rat again and pulled him off the counter, just like before, like a child. Kaiba finished off the glass of whiskey that Yuugi still hadn't touched, and pushed away from the counter to turn the lights on. “Are you staying here Wheeler?”

“Uh… Man I don’t fuckin’ know…”

“You don’t have to Joey. I can take you back to your aunt’s.”

“Nah… it’s fine.” 

“Well. On the bright side I get to give you a tour of the house!”

Joey laughed.

“I’m going to bed,” Kaiba muttered, getting up from the bar stool.

Yuugi got up as well and rushed over to him, wrapping his arms tight around his waist, knocking them both off balance into the wall. He must’ve drank a little too much. “I’m really sorry for leaving like that.”

“We’ll talk about it later.” He waited until Yuugi looked up at him, and leaned to kiss him. 

He smiled and let him go, turning to Joey. “Ready?”

“Yeah! Are ya showin’ me the other part to?”

“No! You have to wait with everyone else.”

“Awww come on! I’m here.”

“And it’s 2 in the morning. We’re going to bed.” Yuugi giggled and led Joey out of the kitchen.

He left the light alone, since he was going to bed, and turned back to glance at the kitchen island. The guy with the crazy hair was still very much there, sitting on the ground and smiling after Yuugi and Joey going into the living room. He shook his head and walked back to the bedroom, holding onto the wall to steady himself. He’d just leave them to whatever it was they were going to do. He wanted to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my favorite chapters! <3 I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.


	5. Chapter Four

The next day, after Joey went back to his aunt’s, Seto and he went out to the store to get some things they needed and to get out of the house for a bit. After that night, he needed a breather. Seto walked beside him putting things in the cart. Neither said anything to each other since they got there. He wanted to ask Seto about everything, but couldn’t find the words. When the cart was somewhat full, Seto turned to him, making him look up. “What’s wrong?”

Yuugi lifted his shoulders, looking away. “I… I don’t know. It’s just crazy. I can’t- I don’t know.”

“Do you want to move?”

Yuugi blinked and stared up at him with wide eyes. “No. I mean, even if I wanted to, we can’t.”

“We can. If you’re uncomfortable we can and  _ will _ move.”

“I’m way past uncomfortable,” he muttered under his breath and sighed. “This was what I was trying to avoid.”

Seto hummed softly and nodded. “So much for all that research you did with Ryou.”

He laughed, leaning on the cart. “Yeah. It’s cool and terrifying all at the same time. Like, I believe in it and all, but seeing… being in the middle of it… it’s terrifying.”

“Unsettling.”

“Huh?”

“It’s unsettling, not terrifying. He hasn’t hurt anyone and he wasn't trying to scare you.”

“Yeah, but he did. Several times.”

“He’s dead.”

“Yep. He’s dead and I’m still confused why you aren’t packing us up already and shipping us out on that alone.”

Seto tisked grabbing the foot of the cart to pull it down an aisle he wanted to go down. “If I thought it was a problem, I would have.”

“So why don’t you think it's a problem? I know you watched just as many horror movies as I have. Ryou doesn’t let us not watch everything.” He giggled. “Sure he’s… I don’t know how to explain it, being nice? I guess?”

“He’s pathetic.”

“That’s not very nice.”

“It’s true.”

“I don’t think it's pathetic. It’s kind of sweet.”

“Or creepy.”

“ _ And _ creepy.” 

“So are you trying to tell me you’re okay with this or not?”

“I don’t know…”

Seto nodded, absentmindedly. “Did you ask Ryou about it?”

Yuugi stood up straight and blinked. “I actually didn’t think about doing that.”

“Do that then.”

He nodded, walking with Seto towards the check out when he caught a sign for kids toys. “What if we got… magnets or something to talk to him with?”

Seto stopped walking and looked over at the kids aisle then back at him. “I’m not talking to him, but if you want to,” he gestured for him to go ahead, “get some.”

“Well, I’m not saying I want to talk to him, I'm just saying we might be able to know more about him and why he’s there. I’m telling you, Ryou and I looked through everything and no one died in that house. No one lived in that house. He shouldn't be there.”

Seto pulled the cart over to the aisle, making the decision for him and he breathed out a sigh of relief. He was actually getting excited about the idea of talking to him. If he wanted to anyway, but if the night before meant anything, he really wanted to talk to him. Maybe this would help all the way around. Yuugi went through the aisle grabbing what he thought was good for talking to him and put it in the cart. Seto didn’t say anything, just let him go through the aisle then they brought the very full cart to the check out.

After they paid and bagged everything, they brought it out to the car. Putting it all inside the trunk, Yuugi realized he might’ve gone a little overboard with it, but what if he needed multiple of the same letter? What if he needed to actually explain something not in just a few words? He had bags of foam letters, magnet letters and boxes of puzzles because what if he’s bored? 

When they came back home, he set magnets on the fridge and put the rest in a cloth basket in the cabinet by the fridge so he could get to them if he needed to. They didn’t hear from the spirit the rest of that day or even the day after that and Yuugi was checking the fridge and the basket regularly. He thought maybe he’d changed his mind and didn’t want to talk to them when three days later he saw a message from him on the fridge. 

‘THanK U I LikE THEsE’

He smiled and wrote out a magnet message back to him. ‘U R wElcomE now wE can TaLK aLL THE TimE’

Over the course of the next two weeks, the spirit in the house sent them little messages, continued to do the dishes and use his magnet for clean or dirty and started making Seto coffee in the morning. It was actually pretty sweet. Still creeped him out when he’d feel something touch his hair or brush across his neck, back and arms, but at least he knew who it was and that had to count for something. By the end of the third week, Yuugi had enough of being unable to call him by name so he made it his mission to come up with one for him and the adorable rat that he really started getting attached to. 

The bed and breakfast opened the following week and they were both too busy to do much of anything besides wake up and go to bed. Still, he kept feeling the spirit’s presence in other parts of the house, not just their part. Seto made comments about it as well and that made him feel so much better to know that it wasn’t just him. Sure they’d all seen it together and everything, but it wasn’t just happening to him anymore. 

After a week of thinking, he was positive he had a good name and had the day off the next day to try and spend time with the spirit a little better than just in passing. He shut the front door and locked it, walking back to the office to check on Seto. He smiled fondly at Seto fast asleep in his office chair and walked quietly inside. He stood beside him, looking him over, then the desk with papers and receipts from the bed and breakfast and some letters from customers asking about it. Then he looked back at Seto’s face. He looked so tired. 

It reminded him of when they first started dating and he’d find him in his office asleep on his desk, tired and drained. He always kissed him awake and talked him into going home because his work would always be there to finish in the morning. Yuugi brushed his fingers through Seto’s hair and leaned down to kiss him gently, thinking about the one time he woke him up before and he’d asked him to stay the night. He told him he’d never slept that well before and Yuugi held on to that all this time, hoping it was still true. 

He felt a hand on his cheek and moved back looking at Seto’s blue lidded eyes. “Are you coming to bed?”

Yuugi beamed. “If you want me to. It’s only 7 though.”

Seto looked down at his desk and sighed, “I should-”

“Go to bed. You should really go to bed.” Yuugi smirked and took his hand, pulling him up from the office chair. “Or I’ll just be in here pestering you again until you do.”

He stood up from the chair, letting Yuugi pull him out of his office. He stopped in the hall and kissed him again. “Are you going to be alright by yourself?”

Yuugi smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. If I’m not you’ll be the first person to know. I can scream pretty loud.” 

Seto flashed him a suggestive smirk. “I’m aware.”

Yuugi blushed, squeezing his hand. “I’ll let you know what he thinks of the names we came up with too.”

Seto nodded, then kissed him again before walking down the hall to their bedroom. “Goodnight.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

Seto looked back at him as he disappeared up the stairs to their room. Yuugi waited until then to turn the light out in the office. He turned around and walked back to the kitchen for a drink and maybe to play a game in the living room. When he stepped foot into the kitchen, he felt a chill and swore he saw someone watching him. He paused at the doorway to the kitchen and looked around. Nothing moved, nothing out of place. The magnets exactly where he had them before. “Are… are you there?”

He jumped back and almost fell into the wall when the magnets on the fridge door moved around. ‘yEs’

“Okay... okay. Sorry.” He laughed nervously, keeping his eyes on the fridge as he walked into the kitchen. “This is really weird.”

The magnets moved around again. ‘PLEasanT surPrisE’

“Yeah.” He smiled at the letters and looked around the kitchen again. “Where are you?”

When he looked back at the fridge the letters didn’t move, but he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. One of the upper cabinets slowly opened and the spirit from before with all of his things in his hair sat inside with a glass in his hands. He smiled and slowly reached down, setting it on the counter. Yuugi stared at him, swallowing the lump in his throat so he could talk. “T-thank you…”

He nodded and the door slowly closed. 

Yuugi took a deep breath and steeled his nerves to walk over to the glass. When he did, he reached up and opened the cabinet. Nothing was there but his glasses. “This is just crazy.”

He heard scraping from the magnets and looked over at the fridge again. ‘noT TirEd’

He blinked and frowned at the fridge. “What?”

Then the magnets moved around. ‘noT sLEEPing noT TirEd’

Yuugi smiled and nodded. “It’s not that late.”

‘bUsY’

“Am I busy?”

Nothing changed.

“No, well I was actually wondering if you wanted to build a puzzle with me. I got-”

He didn’t finish his sentence before the magnets scraped across the fridge writing the word ‘yes’ as many times as the magnets would allow. Yuugi giggled and filled his glass with water. When he turned back around he saw that the spirit had a puzzle out he wanted to build. He took a step toward it and it slid on the ground down the hall towards Seto’s office, stopping in the middle of the hallway right in front of the door. 

He tilted his head wondering why it was there and the magnets scrapped on the fridge. ‘Turn hall light off’

“How am I supposed to see?”

‘sEE finE’

Yuugi didn’t know about all that, but he sighed, looking down the hallway and set the glass down on the counter. He walked into the hallway, flipping off the light and realized, as he looked at the puzzle box that it was glow in the dark. He laughed, finding it ironic since he didn’t buy it for that reason at all. The hall was semi lit with the light from the kitchen, but the doorway to Seto’s office was pitch black and it made the glow perfect without being a complete indiscernible mess. He sat down across from the doorway and stiffened when he saw a pair of hands grab the box lid and open it up. He released a shaky breath and shook his head. “I don’t think I’m going to get used to this.”

The spirit leaned forward a little so he could see his face in the dim hall light and he smiled. Yuugi felt himself smile back. As haunting as he was, he was actually pretty cute. Hauntingly cute. 

He dumped out the puzzle pieces and disappeared back into the shadows while Yuugi fanned them out to look at them better. He picked up an outside edge piece and set it down away from the others watching as the spirit did the same. “Seto and I think we have some pretty good names for you and your pet rat. Where is he by the way?”

He leaned forward out of the darkness and looked up as the rat squeaked in his hair. He smiled at Yuugi again then disappeared. Yuugi giggled and shook his head. He looked down at the puzzle, putting a few pieces together then cleared his throat. “So yeah, I wanted to ask you some questions and since you can’t talk. I was thinking of yes or no questions. You can uh… you can tap the box once for no and twice for yes if you want.”

A hand reached out and tapped the box with his fingers twice. ‘Yes’

“Good. This’ll help me come up with something you’ll like instead of us just throwing names at you, right?” Yuugi chuckled and put another piece together then looked up at the darkness. “Umm… You’re in the dark a lot. Do you like the dark?”

One tap. ‘No’

“Why not? I mean- sorry.” Yuugi shook his head and laughed. “Is it uh… It’s just that you’re in the dark a lot. I figured you’d like it.”

One tap. ‘No.’

“Yeah I see that. Or are you meaning you’re not in it a lot? Are you in it a lot?”

Two taps. ‘Yes.’

“So you’re in it a lot, but you don’t like it.” Yuugi chewed his bottom lip, looking back into the darkness. “So is it more just something you do, like a comfort or safety thing? But you don’t really like it.”

Two taps. ‘Yes’

“Do you like us being here?”

The spirit tapped loudly on the box twice. ‘Yes’

Yuugi attempted to hush his giggles and shook his head. “I’m glad, but Seto’s sleeping. You’re going to wake him up.”

The spirit tapped the box twice, louder, and Yuugi’s laughter grew. “I asked you if you were happy we were here, maybe I should’ve asked you if you were happy about us separately.” He giggled and picked up a puzzle piece. “Are you happy I’m here?”

Two taps. ‘Yes’

“Are you happy Seto’s here?”

The spirit hesitated, hesitated for a while, and Yuugi was starting to worry about asking that in general when he reached out and tapped the box twice. ‘Yes’

“Had to think about it?”

Two taps. ‘Yes’

Yuugi chewed his bottom lip thinking of another question to ask when the spirit leaned forward out of the darkness and gently took the puzzle piece from his hands, connecting it up with the one he was working on. Yuugi blushed. “Sorry.”

He smiled and disappeared again.

“So uhh, well I can’t ask you why you had to think about it… I can guess though.”

Two taps. ‘Yes’

“Is it that you’re not sure you like him?”

More hesitation, then one tap. ‘No’

Yuugi quirked a brow at the darkness and tilted his head. “Is it because of me?”

Two taps. ‘Yes’

“What about me? I mean uh…” Yuugi blew out his cheeks trying to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach like he should be alarmed or flattered, and he wasn’t sure which one was the right one. “You uh… earlier you said you liked me. Are you jealous?” He waited, but nothing happened and Yuugi had to smile. “Is it that you don't know or is it that you don’t know what jealous means?”

Two taps. ‘Yes’

“Oh. It means you want what he has.”

Two taps. Clear as a bell without any hesitation and it made him blush and want to ask a billion more questions that yes or no just didn’t cover. He sighed, looking down at the puzzle trying to pull something out of the jumbled mess that was his thoughts. He snickered to himself and mumbled, “I’m surprised Seto’s not.”

As soon as he said it, the nervousness sank into confusion and sadness. Why wasn’t he? Sure this was a ghost of all things. It wasn’t like he was alive or solid and they were married and trusted each other even if he was alive and solid. So he should be honored that Seto wasn’t worried about it, but he wasn’t. He was bitter. Yuugi explained everything that was happening to him; about the shower, about the bedroom and he didn’t look at it or react to it how Yuugi would’ve thought. It was a hell of a lot better than ‘you’re crazy that never happened’ but it wasn’t a ‘were moving. No one feels up my husband’. If that made any sense. Was he making any sense? 

The spirit leaned forward out of the darkness and reached out lifting his chin, making him look at him then he leaned back just enough for Yuugi to see him tap on the box.

Two taps. ‘Yes’

“Yes what? Yes he’s jealous?”

Two taps. ‘Yes’ 

Yuugi shook his head. “No he’s not. I’ve seen him jealous. This isn’t it.”

He tapped twice on the box again, forcefully, like he was making a point that Yuugi was wrong. 

“Okay wise guy. If he’s jealous why isn’t he saying anything about it?” Yuugi groaned and threw his head back. “Damn it. Never mind.”

The spirit leaned forward laughing silently. It was strange seeing him laugh, yet being unable to hear it at all. When he turned back to the puzzle, the spirit slid the paper from the first night between them and pointed to the letters. 

‘L-O-V-E Y-O-U’

Yuugi snorted and shook his head. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better, but you’re not exactly qualified to tell me how he feels about anything. I’m still trying to figure it out and I’ve known him for years.”

‘L-O-V-E Y-O-U’ the spirit tapped twice on the box then pointed at the paper again. ‘W-A-T-C-H H-I-M E-A-S-Y T-O S-E-E’

Yuugi sighed. “For all of your hesitating to tell me if you wanted him here or not you’re pretty interested in him.”

He smirked again and tapped on the box twice. ‘Yes’

  
\---  
  
  


The next morning Yuugi made chocolate chip pancakes and smiled up at the spirit in the cabinet handing him his spatula. How was he even in there with all the dishes taking up most of the space? The shadow from the door kept him shrouded, making his black eyes stand out against his ashen skin, but his warm smile made it difficult to look away. “You can’t take kitchen stuff. I need it.” He giggled and shook his head. 

“Did you tell him what name we thought was best?” Yuugi turned to see Seto walking into the kitchen, looking at the cabinet then him with an amused grin. “Or were you caught up building puzzles like you normally are?”

Yuugi blushed and lifted his shoulders, holding out the spatula. “Oops… “

The magnets moved on the fridge making them both look at it. ‘NamE’

Seto paused mid step to the island, then shook his head, continuing on. “Yes. We wanted to know how you felt about the name Atem.”

Yuugi glanced at the magnets on the refrigerator and smiled when none of them moved. “It’s the name of our last project. Since it never got off the ground, someone should have it.”

‘ProjEcT’

“I used to own a billion dollar multinational company making advanced technological devices. A.T.E.M. was a Virtual Assistant.”

“It was way more than that,” Yuugi said, turning to the cabinet he’d seen the spirit in, happy he was still there. “He could do just about anything. We’d programmed him to hold full conversations too. It was like having a bff at your fingertips!”

‘whaT haPPEnEd’

“When we sold the company, they took over it and mutilated it like everything else,” Seto muttered.

Yuugi quickly changed the subject. “Joey really wants to name your rat Lieutenant Squeakers.”

“His first idea was better,” Seto said, pulling Yuugi’s attention to him. As soon as Seto looked up he frowned at him. “What?”

Yuugi just laughed. Seto kept his eyes narrowed on him in a silent but very real threat. He turned back to the stove and said, “It was a good idea. What do you think of the name Topper for your rat?”

He looked up at the cabinet and smiled at the spirit's silent laughter as he shook his head and closed the cabinet door. 

“Is that a no then?” Seto asked, sitting down at the island with a cup of coffee.

The magnets moved on the fridge: ‘LovE THEm’

Yuugi caught the strange look on Seto’s face and tilted his head. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you move things like that all the time?”

The magnets moved again. ‘LEss Tiring’

He nodded once and sipped his coffee so Yuugi went back to focus on his pancakes.

“Are you feeling better?” Seto asked.

Yuugi glanced over his shoulder and heard the magnets moving. ‘yEs’

“Don’t terrorize the guests.”

‘i woULd nEvEr’

“Well you terrorized Yuugi because no one said not to so I have to double check.”

The magnets might not have moved, but he could feel the temperature in the room lower. Seto laughed and he heard the cup tap on the counter. Glancing back at him, Yuugi found it strange how comfortable Seto was talking to him. He wasn’t afraid of him at all, even knowing he could move things without seeing him. It didn’t change how he felt. He antagonized him every chance he had and, while that could turn into a bad thing, it was the tone he did it in that caused Yuugi to pause every time. He couldn’t quite place it, but it reminded him of something. He talked to someone like that at one point. Was it him?

Yuugi piled a few non chocolate chip pancakes on a plate and held it up to the cabinet for the spirit, no, for Atem to take and he did, flashing him a sweet smile before disappearing into the closed cabinet. 

“Why does the rat get food before we do?”

Yuugi giggled and turned the stove off. “Because his food doesn’t have chocolate in it.”

  
\---

By the end of their first month open at the bed and breakfast, Atem warmed up to his name and Yuugi warmed up to how excited and proud he was to be called it. After all, it was pretty sweet. So walking through the hallway in the business part of the house, he talked to him because he was bored out of his mind and still had a few hours to go. 

“Can you straighten the picture for me, Atem?” The picture moved, laying perfectly on the wall and he smiled. “You’re amazing.”

He felt something brush against his hair and knew that was Atem’s way of saying thank you. 

“We’ve had a few families come through here this month. Did you see the kids?”

He felt two taps on his shoulder. ‘Yes’

“Did you like them?”

Two more prominent taps on his cheek made him giggle. “I’ll take that as a super yes. My friends are coming to see us soon. I can’t wait for them to meet you. You’ll love them.”

He kept walking down the hall when a door creaked open. He stopped and turned, seeing nothing in the doorway. Glancing up at the number on the door, he frowned. He didn’t remember giving anyone that room. Walking up to the door he looked inside, dark but empty. He shrugged and reached for the doorknob when a hand swept out from around the door and grabbed his wrist. He gasped, but he recognized it. “Atem!”

He let him go, or he thought he let him go. His hand released his wrist but something else, something cold and powerful grabbed his waist and pulled him into the room with so much force, he let out a fairly unmanly squeak. He slid into the room, toppling on the bed while the door slammed shut. He panted staring up at the ceiling and trying to keep from freaking out. He literally slid through the damn room! He sucked in a sharp breath and looked up at Atem sitting on the bed looking down at him, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. 

“Very funny,” he huffed and glared at him, embarrassed that it startled him so much, but he slid through the room! 

Atem nodded vigorously and leaned down quickly, too quickly for Yuugi to process what was going on, and kissed him. His eyes widened and just stared at Atem sitting back up and laughing. He was embarrassed, freaked out, flustered and who knew what else, making his heart pound a million beats a second. He thought he was having a heart attack. He was going to die in here with a hauntingly cute ghost laughing at him. 

Atem’s laughter shook his magician doll from his hair and it fell on Yuugi’s chest. He snatched it when Atem reached out to take it back and bolted up from the bed. His heart still pounded against his chest but now he felt like he had a foot back in reality. He ran to the door, opened it up, and ran down the hall; looking back behind him to see if Atem was there, but he wasn't. He ran down the stairs to the lobby and looked around, but Atem wasn’t there either. He snickered to himself, finally feeling like he could take a breath and leaned on the check in counter. Next thing he knew, he felt something tug on his hand and looked down at Atem, snatching the doll back and winking at him before disappearing in the shadows in the corner of the desk. Yuugi tried to go after him, but nothing was there. He huffed, smiling as he stood up and looked around the lobby. Well he wasn’t bored anymore. That had to count for something. Still felt like he’d have a heart attack any second, but he wasn’t bored. 

“You know, this could be a fun game.”

He heard the bell on his magician’s hat ring and turned around. Atem knelt behind a large decorative vase and playfully shook the doll on the floor like it was laughing at him too. He silently giggled and disappeared behind the vase. 

“Alright. You’re on.”

\---

Well into the evening, Kaiba went over the finances for the month. He picked up his coffee mug beside the computer and took a sip. There were few things to tweak, but all in all, not bad for their first month. He set the cup down when he heard loud footsteps down the hall. Glancing at the door, he shook his head and looked back at the computer. He added a few receipts to the report he’d made when Yuugi burst into his office, out of breath and grinning. He slammed the door shut behind him, putting his finger to his lips. “Shh.”

“I’m working.”

“Shhhh!”

He sighed when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Atem shook the dark magician doll in his hand making a small bell on its hat ring. Yuugi bolted over and dove for it, but Atem pulled it back in the shadows before Yuugi could get it. He giggled and huffed, starting to ask where it was, when Seto saw it again on the other side of the room, ringing. “Do you have to do this in here?”

Yuugi ignored him and snatched the doll, bolting out of his office laughing. 

He shook his head and started to pick up the coffee mug when he heard a loud thud, a door slam, more running and more loud thuds. He threw his head back and groaned. As much as he loved that Yuugi wasn’t afraid of Atem anymore, this was the opposite of help. He pushed his chair back and got up, glancing at the clock and seeing it was nine. He could probably distract him with ice cream if nothing else. He stood from his chair and walked around his desk to the door. Opening it, he heard Yuugi scream and laugh upstairs in their bedroom. 

Ascending the stairs, he glared at his bedroom door. Although Yuugi was laughing, it certainly didn’t put him at ease by the rest of the sounds coming from behind the door. It sounded like the furniture was moving, the thuds were too loud to be footsteps and could possibly be from Yuugi falling or who knew what else and his screams were more out of surprise than enjoying the moment. He jerked open the door, too on edge to open it normally. He just wasn’t sure what he was seeing when he did. 

The room was dark from their black out curtains and the lights were off, but he could still see. Yuugi leaned over the edge of the bed, snatching the doll from under it and tried to scramble back as fast as he could. An ink stained hand grabbed him and pulled him down onto the floor. Yuugi screamed again, still laughing as he fell on his back on the floor. Kaiba didn’t see Atem’s hand or anything touch him, but he definitely saw something spin Yuugi around and pull him under the bed by his feet. “NO!” He screamed and laughed, trying to grab anything as he disappeared under the bed.

It was… unnerving to see. If it wasn’t for him laughing he’d be concerned. “Yuugi.”

The whole bed shifted almost a foot from the wall and Atem rolled out from the other side, silently laughing and cradling the doll tight to his chest. Yuugi huffed, giggled, and lifted the bedskirt to look up at him. “Hey Seto!”

“What the hell are you doing?”

“We’re playing a game and Atem’s cheating.” He disappeared back under the bed and reached out, stealing the doll from Atem again. 

Kaiba rolled his eyes as Atem dove back under the bed, making Yuugi giggle and scream again. “If you want ice cream you need to stop.”

He turned to go back downstairs, snickering to himself when Yuugi shouted from the bedroom. “Be there in a- No! Damn it! I just had it!”


	6. Chapter Five

2 in the morning Yugi woke up to the sound of a small bell. He groaned and rolled over, wrapping his arm around Seto’s body, pulling him closer for warmth. Why was the room so cold? He tried going back to sleep, but he heard the little bell again. Muttering quietly, he relented and got up. Looking around the room, dark and unmoving, he listened to the direction for where the bell was coming from. He heard it again towards the door so he shuffled out of bed and through the room to the stairs. He saw movement in the office doorway and heard the bell again making him snicker, “I'm not playing right now. I’m supposed to be sleeping.”

Atem didn’t listen and moved it to the spare bedroom doorway ringing the bell again. He descended the stairs and tried to reach for the doll, but it disappeared. He took a step into the spare room when he heard it down the hall in the kitchen. Smiling, he walked down the hall into the kitchen and flipped on the light, looking around and listening for the bell. Glancing towards the living room, he decided to go check in there when he heard the basement door slowly creak open behind him. His whole body went rigid, turning to face it. Atem had to be out of his damn mind.

He walked over to the doorway and looked down the dark basement stairs. At the bottom he saw the doll shake in Atem's hand, his arm disappearing around the post into the darkness, and the bell sounded again. Yuugi laughed, heartily laughed, shaking his head. “Nope. That’s a nope. I’m not going into the basement at two in the morning.”

He shut the door, the bell still ringing, and walked over to the kitchen to get a glass of milk hoping it would help him get back to sleep. He grabbed the jug from the fridge and brought it over to the counter, reaching up to the cabinet with glasses in it. Though he didn't make it to the cabinet door, Atem held out a glass for him smiling in the dark. He smiled back and took the glass, glancing back up at him. “Why aren’t you sleeping? Do you not sleep?”

He just stared at him.

“Well I need to sleep… Are you bored or something?”

He nodded.

“You can come upstairs with me.” As soon as he said it he blushed, realizing that was probably a stupid thing to offer. “I mean, I don’t know what you’re going to do-”

Atem was already gone.

He sighed, looking all around him but he didn't see him anywhere. He poured himself a glass of milk, drank it, and set the glass in the sink, then put the milk away. He looked at the basement door one more time, hoping and praying it wouldn't open when he passed it to go into the hallway. Part of him expected to run into Atem at some point on his way up to his room but he didn’t, so he shrugged, ascending the stairs. 

Once inside his room, he saw Atem sitting on the end of the bed smiling. Shutting the door behind him, he snickered and shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Go to sleep,” Seto grumbled and rolled over, making them both look at him. 

Atem soundlessly laughed and turned back. Yuugi was so nervous, walking over to the bed, unable to look away from Atem. “Uh… Do you want a pillow?”

Atem nodded

He turned to grab one from the chair in the corner, then held it out to him, trying to still his shaky hands. Atem took it, still smiling, and got off the bed. Yuugi let out a ragged breath and climbed in. When he looked back up Atem was gone again. He sighed and snuggled into the blankets pressing his back against Seto, grinning when he wrapped his arm around him. He closed his eyes relaxing from the warmth and all of his nerves melted away. When he opened his eyes, Atem was beside him, not on the bed, but in the air laying on his back with the pillow under his head, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Comfy?” he whispered.

Atem turned to look at him, his eyes black as the room and smiled again, nodding slowly. 

“Where’s Topper?” Yuugi curiously watched him point towards his dresser and groaned, “Seriously?”

Atem laughed soundlessly and nodded, closing his eyes.

Yuugi watched him. He wondered why his eyes were like they were and why it looked like he had ink all over him and he wondered how he was able to do all the things he did. It really felt like he was breaking some big ghost rules, like right now. He hesitantly reached out, to see if he was breaking any more rules, and brushed his fingers over Atem’s bare shoulder where his shirt didn’t cover. He was cold, but he was also very much solid. His skin was soft, just like any living person would be and cold as ice, like someone not living would be. The ink didn’t come off on Yuugi’s fingertips though. Maybe it wasn’t on his skin, but inside it somehow. Atem’s eyes opened and he turned. 

Embarrassed at the way he looked at him, as if to say ‘there’s more of me you know’, Yuugi jerked his hand back and buried himself in the blankets trying to fight a flustered smile. It was going to be a long night.

  
\---

Kaiba typed out a few response emails to reservations and questions he had left to finish. Yuugi was asleep and he should be too, but he wanted to get them done tonight since he knew he’d get nothing done tomorrow. Tomorrow was Mokuba’s birthday and it still got to him. He finished up a few emails, ignoring the impending dread creeping up on him, and stared frustrated at one of them. It asked about the grounds, not the house, and he honestly didn’t know how to answer it. He hadn’t walked the grounds. That should probably be rectified. He tilted his head to the side, sighing, and rested his fingers on his chin, clicking over to another email when he felt a chin press into his shoulder. “I thought you were sleeping.”

He turned his head, realizing almost immediately after he spoke, that wasn't Yuugi. Atem rested his chin on his shoulder, reading the emails with him, ignoring him. “What are you doing?”

He turned a little to look at him then looked back at the screen. A new email window popped up and the keyboard clicked under his fingers even though he hadn't moved. 

‘Reading. What are you doing?’

“Working and I’d rather you didn’t do… whatever it is you did with my computer.”

‘Why not?’

“It’s not yours.”

‘This house is mine.’

“It's not.”

‘I live here. It’s mine.’

“You tell Yuugi that. He’s the one that bought it.”

Atem smiled and the keyboard clattered again. ‘He can’t buy something that’s not for sale. It’s mine.’

“Take it up with him.”

‘OK’

Kaiba closed the window and started typing up another email, but Atem still hadn’t moved and his face was getting old. “I see you haven’t figured out ‘personal boundaries’ yet.”

In the email he was typing on a sentence popped up.

‘You haven’t told me no yet.’

“No.”

Next thing he knew the email filled with ‘Haha’ and it was still going when he rolled his eyes and closed it out and shut the computer down. He turned in the chair making Atem back up and get off of his shoulder. “What do you want?”

Atem smirked and moved around the desk, kneeling down on the other side of it, disappearing. He glared at the dark then Atem came back up with that same old piece of paper with the letters on it, now a little crumpled and torn on the edges. He pointed to it, still smirking at him.

‘P-E-S-T-E-R Y-O-U’

“Don’t you do that enough already?”

‘No’

“Why aren’t you pestering Yuugi? You haven’t had a problem waking him up every day for the last week at two in the morning to pester him.”

‘T-A-L-K T-O Y-O-U’

He scoffed, “lucky me.”

‘A-R-E Y-O-U O-K’

He frowned. “Why are you asking?”

‘A-I-R D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T’

What was that supposed to mean? Kaiba kept staring at the paper then looked up. He expected him to still be smirking, because that had to be a joke, but he wasn’t. He actually looked concerned for some reason. “I’m fine.”

‘W-O-R-K A-L-L D-A-Y’

“I'm alway-”

‘N-O-T-H-I-N-G D-O-N-E’

He sat up straight, getting ready to defend himself and ran over what he did all day, but Atem was right. He maybe sent out 5 emails… all day long. He sighed, leaning back in the chair. “I’m fine.”

‘S-C-A-R-E Y-U-U-G-I’

He groaned, “You scared him again?”

‘N-O-T M-E’ ‘Y-O-U’

He scoffed, glaring at the paper then up at him. “I don’t need an animated-shrine-to-Yuugi’s concern.” Pushing the chair back, he stood up and stomped through the office until he felt a cold hand grab his wrist.

When he turned back, Atem looked at him very differently than he had before and he hated it. It was understanding, but not like Yuugi’s look of understanding about this. This was… real understanding. Like everything he felt was mirrored in him and he couldn’t let it all be visible like that. If he saw it, it’d be all he saw. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

He jerked his hand out of Atem’s and stomped out of his office up to his room, slamming the door behind him. Yuugi startled awake and gasped from the bed, “What?!”

“Go back to sleep.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Your undead fanclub president is wearing out his welcome.”

Yuugi sleepily snickered and scooted over. “Come to bed. He’s probably just bored again.” He yawned and closed his eyes. “You’d be bored if you were like that too.”

No he wouldn’t be. He’d be looking for Mokuba and terrorizing anyone who’d step foot in the door that wasn’t him until they left. It started out as an innocent thought, as he slid into bed beside Yuugi, feeling him shift and lay on his chest. But it didn’t stop there, thinking about what it’d be like, would it be any different than how he was right now? He fell asleep thinking it might be better.

\---

Kaiba stared up at the ceiling. He should move, take a walk, get something to eat, literally do anything but lay there, but he didn’t. Yuugi came in not long before, offering to take him for a drive or something to that effect. He started to regret saying no. He just wanted to sleep a little longer. If he slept through the whole day, tomorrow would be better. He hoped tomorrow would be better. Though he felt a twinge in his neck, and a headache starting behind his eyes. He needed to get up, stop thinking about how this wasn't fair. How he’d ended up no better off that he was before. He still had nothing, Mokuba wasn’t coming back, and now he had a chilling reminder that life and even death wasn’t fair. He glared at the dark corner of the room, only partly sure he was there. He was in the room. He knew that much. “Go away.”

The room grew colder. Despite how it helped with his headache, he really didn’t want him there. “I'm giving you a free day to stalk Yuugi if you leave me alone.”

The closet door creaked open and he slowly turned to look into it, but he didn’t see anything. Normally, Atem made himself clearly visible and he frowned at it, wondering what was going on. On the off chance he actually listened to him, and even if he didn’t, Kaiba rolled over, facing away from the closet. He closed his eyes, but the door creaked again. Opening his eyes, he stared at the wall while the door creaked constantly, almost like someone was swinging the door back and forth just to make the noise. “You’re really lucky you’re already dead,” he muttered and grabbed Yuugi’s pillow covering his head with it.

The creaking stopped and he sighed, relaxing into the bed trying to go back to sleep.

Then the blanket shifted, a little at first then slowly slid away. He turned, lifting the pillow and watched the blanket slide off the bed. He shifted, throwing the pillow back to Yuugi’s spot and reached for the edge of the bed, leaning over to see what the hell he was doing. All he saw was the blankets being dragged under the bed, completely disappearing. He crossed his arms under his chin, staring at the floor and waited. When he didn't move, he saw an inked hand curl around the base of the bed, then Atem’s rat’s nest of hair slowly slid out from under it. He felt his lips curl for just a moment seeing the dark magician doll stuffed in it. But it didn’t last long and he sighed. 

Atem kept staring up at him from the floor, looking just as concerned as before, understanding reflecting back in his eyes. How could he have any idea though? He didn’t remember anything, and even if he did, what did that matter? Atem tilted his head to the side, ringing the bell and smiled up at him, pointing towards the bedroom door. 

“No.”

He nodded, ringing the bell again.

“Go to hell.”

Kaiba shifted back on the bed and laid face down into Yuugi’s pillow, debating on calling him and making Atem leave. Then he felt something grab his ankle. That was it. He bolted up and sat on the bed glaring at nothing where he swore he felt Atem’s hand. “Do.  _ Not _ . Touch. Me.”

The bedroom door swung open slowly in response.

He muttered under his breath, relenting to the fact that he needed to get Yuugi to get him to stop. He climbed out of bed and stomped over to the door, grabbing the handle to shut it, but it stayed still right where it was. He pulled on it harder, but it still wouldn’t budge. Glaring at the door, he heard a bell in the kitchen. Fine. He had to go that way to get to the front door anyway. He stomped down the stairs, intending to move as fast as he could through the house so Atem couldn’t stop him, but the basement door creaked open, the magnets on the fridge scrapped across it, and he heard the front door bolt lock. Sighing, he rolled his eyes and looked at the fridge.

‘HELP you’

He walked over to the basement door, looking down it as he slammed it shut. “I don’t need your help.”

‘TrusT mE’

“Why the hell should I?”

‘NoTHing To LosE’

He narrowed his eyes, balling his fists at his sides.

‘yuugi safE’ ‘TrusT mE’ ‘HELP you’

He just stared at the magnets not sure what to do as the basement door slowly opened again, creaking as it swung towards the wall. “There’s nothing you can do.”

The letters scraped across the fridge again, leaving ‘TrusT mE’. 

He looked back at the basement and sighed. Nothing to lose. Nothing that wouldn't be better off anyway. He took a step, reaching for the doorknob and slowly closed it behind him, descending the staircase. The basement looked exactly like it did the day Yuugi brought him to the house. Furniture covered in white sheets, the ones they’d decided to keep but weren’t sure what to do with, still stacked against the walls. He should get rid of all of it. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn his head, blinking wide eyed at the hole in the basement wall where the root cellar was. 

The hole that he had sealed up when they remodeled the house. Stones lined the outer edges of the root cellar as if someone took it apart by hand. Did Atem do that? He walked towards it, wondering if it was Atem he saw over there. Stopping just outside of it, he looked into the pitch black. Squinting, hoping to see better, a hand shot out towards him. He jumped back, releasing the breath he was holding when Atem leaned outside of the darkness. It was almost like he’d moved out from behind a black curtain with how dark it was. He mouthed something, but Kaiba had no idea what he wanted. 

Atem reached out further, gently wrapping his cold fingers around his wrist and pulled him towards the darkness. He let him. He realized then, stepping into the dark, that he probably should go back upstairs. Even as Atem led him further in, making sure he didn’t hit his head on the ceiling, he felt he should probably go to the B&B and talk to Yuugi, if nothing else, make himself work through this like he should be doing. He didn't know why he stayed, relying on Atem’s cold hand to lead him through the dark and guide him down to the floor. Laying in the dark, smelling the earth, and focusing on the cold hand on his temple filled him with a profound sense of rest. The kind you don’t wake up from. The kind you don’t want to wake up from. Maybe that’s what Atem was trying to tell him, maybe it wasn’t, but he couldn’t stay awake. 

And he did try.

\---

Yuugi searched the whole house, their half and the bed and breakfast half, but couldn’t find Seto. He looked outside, in the garage, in each room, asked around for anyone to see him but nothing. He was just gone. He wasn’t the only one ‘just gone’ either. Atem was missing as well. He trusted Atem, but he also knew Atem wasn’t a living human being with an understanding of other living human beings. He ran through their home again until he stood in the kitchen, hands cupped over his mouth. “Atem!”

Nothing.

“Where are you? Do you know where Seto is?”

Still nothing.

“Topper!” He knelt down and looked around the floorboards and until he heard a squeak from behind him. He turned and saw the basement door open with Topper hanging out at the top of the stairs. “You’re one hell of a brave rat.”

He held his hand out for him to come to him, but Topper had other plans and started to go back down stairs. “Please tell me he’s not down there.”

He crawled over to the door and pushed it open. By now it was night time so the basement was pitch black. “Someone hates me.”

Sitting up on his knees, he turned the light on. The instant he did, he saw something behind one of the boxes, quickly ducking away. He screamed, not fully registering it was Atem at first. Then he took a deep breath and shouted down the stairs. “Why didn’t you answer me?”

The magnets shifted behind him and he turned to read them.

‘sLEEPing’

“Oh uh… have you seen Seto?”

‘sLEEPing wiTH mE’

Yuugi frowned at the refrigerator and looked down the stairs. “Down… down there?”

Atem poked his head out from behind the boxes and nodded, then disappeared again. Of course he was down there. Where else would he be but the super creepy basement. Yuugi shook with anxiety and chewed the inside of his cheek, swinging his legs over the top step. He took a shaky breath and descended the stairs holding onto the railing so tight his knuckles were white. His anxiety twisted in his stomach as he looked around the basement waiting for something to jump out at him. “Seto!”

No answer.

At the bottom of the stairs he had to force himself to let go of the railing, glancing back up at the open basement door. “Can you make sure that stays open? Please?”

He didn’t get an answer from that either but he had to hope Atem understood. He walked further into the basement looking around the boxes and old furniture. “Seto. Are you down here?”

He searched all over the basement finding absolutely nothing. He sighed, now clear across the basement by the stacks of furniture that was in the house before. Maybe Atem was telling him he was down here before and then went back upstairs to sleep. He started to walk back towards the stairs when something grabbed his ankle. He screamed, jerking his leg away so fast he lost his balance and fell onto the concrete. Pain shot through his hip and elbow but he was too scared to focus on it. He stared at what grabbed him, seeing Atem under a covered table wincing. He breathed out and glared at him. “Why did you do that? You scared me!”

Atem flinched, shrinking back then sheepishly pointed to a shadow across the back wall. He looked at it then Atem. “What?”

He pointed again then disappeared under the table. Yuugi pushed himself up, groaning and holding onto his side. Why would Seto be over here? He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, shook it once and the flashlight came on. He pointed it towards the shadow and realized it wasn’t a wall at all. Yuugi frowned at the gaping hole in the cement that he knew for a fact was covered when they remodeled the house. 

He walked towards it, flashing the light through the unfinished part of the basement until it swept across a person. He stopped, focusing the light on Seto, laying on the ground in the root cellar. He darted into it, sliding in the dirt to his knees and put his hand on Seto’s back. “Seto?” He shook him gently, trying to wake him up but he wasn’t moving. “Seto, wake up!”

Still nothing. 

He pulled on his shoulder, making him lay on his back and put his hand on his neck. He was so cold, but he wasn’t dead. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and tried to blink them away. Taking a hold of his shirt, he shook him harder, trying not to panic, but this reminded him of the last time he found him like this. 

Even after all that and Seto telling him he never wanted to see him again, he was still worried about him. One night he just had a bad feeling. He called and called but he didn't answer his phone. Yuugi went to his office and found out he was still there and his secretary was freaking out because he wasn’t answering her and she couldn’t get inside. He remembered breaking the door to get inside. Still didn’t remember how he did it, but he did. That's when he found him hunched over his desk, cold as ice and unresponsive. They rushed him to the hospital and he found out he hadn’t eaten or drank much of anything in days. He almost killed himself from dehydration. For so long Yuugi felt like it was all his fault, like he wasn't doing enough or reason enough to keep him there. He woke up every day for months after that fearing he’d come home to that again. Did he come home to that again?

Seto groaned and slowly opened his eyes, frowning at Yuugi. He shifted, getting a better look at him then sat up. “What’s wrong?”

He tried to explain himself, but he was too overwhelmed to get a single word out. Instead he laid on Seto’s chest, burying his face in his shirt and cried. 

  
\---  
  


Kaiba didn’t know what to say, holding Yuugi in his lap with what felt like fifty blankets wrapped around the both of them in front of the lit fireplace. Two cups of steaming coffee and hot chocolate an arms-reach away, but too far to get out of the blankets. He was still freezing. Yuugi got a blanket for Atem too and he laid on the floor on the other side of the fireplace in the shadows with it bunched up under him. Atem stared at Yuugi, confused and concerned. Kaiba was concerned. 

He didn't regret it though. He actually did feel better for whatever reason. He didn’t know if he dreamt it or not, but he remembered standing in a vast and empty space surrounded by fog and hearing voices. They searched for someone too through the fog never to find them but knew they were just beyond it. He wasn’t alone and he could feel it across the vast fog. He couldn’t see anyone but they were there. He heard Atem’s voice in the fog too, but he wasn’t sure how solid or real that was either. Did he forget who he was looking for? Is that what would happen? That thought terrified him and Yuugi’s uncontrollable sobs for the last hour until he fell asleep in his lap didn’t help. 

Atem shifted, drawing his attention from Yuugi’s sleeping face to him. He pulled out the paper with the letters and pointed to it.

‘S-O-R-R-Y’

“Don’t be. You didn’t know.”

Atem laid down on the blanket and pointed to the paper again.

‘D-O-N-T K-N-O-W A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G’

Kaiba snickered and shook his head. “You do. This isn’t your fault.” He adjusted Yuugi in his lap and sighed. “This is my fault. I’m still not used to him doing this.”

‘D-O-I-N-G W-H-A-T’

“Caring.”

Atem gave him a really strange look then smiled. 

‘Y-O-U H-A-V-E W-E-I-R-D M-A-R-R-I-A-G-E’

He scoffed. “How would you know? We could be perfectly normal.”

‘No’

He felt himself smile, resting his head on Yuugi’s. “It didn’t start out so well. We weren’t together when I asked him to marry me.”

‘W-H-Y N-O-T’

“Mokuba. I couldn’t devote any of my time to anyone else.”

Atem looked at him, then down at Yuugi before pointing at the paper. 

‘S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E-D H-E A-G-R-E-E-D’

Kaiba snickered. “You and me both. I’d asked Yuugi not to tell him we weren’t together anymore until he was better. I didn’t want him to be upset, he had enough to deal with, but when we found out he wasn’t going to get better, Mokuba made me promise I’d marry him so he could be there for me. It wasn’t real.”

‘R-E-A-L N-O-W’

Atem quirked a brow, looking at him as if it was a question. 

The answer was fairly simple; yes it was, but he remembered a time when it wasn’t. He remembered being angry that Yuugi faked through everything up until Mokuba died. It’s what he asked him to do, what he agreed to do, but it still hurt. He carried that resentment into filing for a divorce to end their agreement and refusing to talk to him afterward. Then he woke up in the hospital with Yuugi right beside his bed, almost as distraught as he was an hour ago. All he said was his name and Yuugi took that as asking him what was wrong. He yelled at him for scaring him, for not eating, for avoiding him, for not letting him help. He was going to go on for a while if Kaiba’d let him, so he stopped him asking why he was there. He said he knew Kaiba wouldn’t believe him, but he still loved him. He realized Yuugi wasn’t faking anything. Something he probably would’ve known if he’d talked to him about it. He just… couldn’t. 

“Yes.”

Atem closed his eyes laying there motionless so he assumed he was done talking. He closed his eyes too, still trying to get rid of the chill. He heard the paper crinkle and looked up. Atem brushed back his bangs and pointed at it.

‘D-E-M-O-N’

“What?”

‘A-S-K W-H-A-T I A-M’ He paused, chewing his bottom lip. ‘D-E-M-O-N’

“No you’re not.”

‘Yes.’

“Sure. The most pathetic sentimental demon in existence then. You’re not making any sense.”

Atem smirked, keeping his eyes on him as he pointed to the paper.

‘L-I-K-E M-E’

Kaiba glared at him, then tisked, looking down at Yuugi. “Hardly.”

‘L-I-K-E M-E D-O-N-T S-E-E I-T’

“See what?”

‘S-E-E C-A-N-T N-O-T S-E-E’

“Still pathetic. I think you’re just trying to make yourself sound ominous.”

Atem made a strange sound even though it looked like he was laughing. He wasn’t even sure it was Atem that made the sound; almost like a cougar purring. The only reason he even had that to relate it to was Yuugi spending a good hour making him watch videos of it because he thought it was the best thing he’d ever heard. This was not like that though. It wasn’t inherently cute or adorable, it was unsettling, like watching Yuugi slide across the floor being pulled under the bed by an invisible force, though it held a similar playful edge. 

Atem rolled onto his back and stretched his hands towards the fire. Like a cat. A cat who owned a rat. A demon who wanted to help. Something was fundamentally wrong with him. 

“Thank you.” Atem looked at him, confused and that confusion stayed, so he explained himself. “I don’t know what you did exactly, but thank you.”

He smiled and nodded curtly, rolling back onto his side to point at the paper.

‘H-E-L-P M-E’ ‘H-E-L-P Y-O-U’

  
\---

The next morning Yuugi had Marla watch the B&B, unbeknownst to him, and  _ made _ him go with him to get breakfast and coffee at a little cafe in the middle of town overlooking the river. No one was there, just them, and Kaiba kept glancing over at Yuugi, expecting him to say something but he was pretty intently admiring out at the view. He sipped his coffee, wondering when their food would be there when Yuugi finally spoke. “You scared me.”

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying ‘obviously.’

“And I wanted to apologize for that. I just… I had no idea where you were. I looked everywhere for you and I found you in the last place I- Why were you even there?”

“Atem brought me down there.”

Yuugi turned to look at him, shocked at first, then his brows scrunched together and his jaw squared. “You just followed a dead guy into the basement? Not a second thought?”

“I said no at least three times. There were 10 second thoughts.” He lifted his coffee mug and fought a smirk. “I told him to go to hell too.”

“But you did it.”

“Yes I did. Why is that a problem?”

“You've watched movies with Ryou and me, and I know for a fact you’ve heard us talking about ghost stuff all the time. Why would you do that?!”

Kaiba set his coffee mug down and glared at him. “This is a really shitty apology.”

Yuugi flinched and looked down at his own coffee. “Yeah, it is. I’m sorry.”

“Furthermore, going into the basement isn’t any different than letting him drag you under a bed.”

Yuugi shot his attention back at him and started to defend himself when his frown disappeared in a fit of giggles. “Wow. There’s something wrong with us.”

He nodded, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand. “Unfortunately, I have to agree.”

Yuugi chuckled and leaned on the table too, crossing his arms over it and pushing his coffee mug back. “I’m not sure what to do about it though.”

He sighed, looking down at his coffee. He didn’t either.

“It’s nice having someone there with us. I thought I'd hate that, but I like having him there.” He smiled and humphed. “Even if he makes me nervous.”

“Nervous?”

Yuugi nodded as best he could with his chin on his arms. “I have no idea what he’s thinking or what he’s going to do. It makes me immediately think the worst then he does something I don’t expect, but it's the opposite of the worst. Like playing the game and getting dragged under the bed.” 

He could relate to that. It’s how he felt following Atem to the basement, but it’s also why he did it. He couldn’t predict what Atem did, but he knew it wouldn’t be something bad. It never was. 

“I'm also pretty positive he likes us.” 

“I think that’s been clear from the beginning.”

“No. I mean ‘likes us’ likes us.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“He kissed me the other day in the B&B and he was sleeping with you downstairs. He told me he was.”

Kaiba tensed, gripping the coffee mug, and scowled, unsure which reaction to go after first; jealous or defensive. Not that he had a chance to have either, Yuugi’s smile pulled his attention to that. “What?”

“Nothing. I owe Atem an apology.”

“Over what?”

“I said you weren’t jealous. I stand corrected.”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

Yuugi’s smile grew. “Yes.”

He narrowed his eyes tapping his finger on the edge of his coffee mug. “I'm not sure where this conversation’s going. Are you saying we should move? Because that’s what it sounds like.”

“Ryou said ghosts attach themselves to places and things, but demons attach themselves to people. So depending on what he is, it might not matter. I have no idea what Atem is, do you? He’s not following the rules for either.”

Kaiba clenched his jaw tight. Yuugi was right, he wasn’t. “I don’t know.”

“So maybe we need to figure that out then decide what to do.”

“Would that change what you want to do?”

Yuugi sat up straight, seemingly thinking it over. He started to answer when the young waitress brought over their food. She smiled and set the plates down. “If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll be back out here in a little while to check on you.”

Yuugi smiled brightly. “Thank you.”

She nodded and turned to walk away. Kaiba didn’t pay any attention to her or the food, he wanted an answer. So he waited until he heard the door of the restaurant shut before he looked back up at Yuugi. “Well?”

Yuugi cut into his waffle, not looking at him. He had a piece cut out and poked his fork into it, but hesitated to bring it to his lips. Sighing, he glanced up at him. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“So the answer is no.”

“Is your answer no?”

“You think he’s not a ghost.”

Yuugi looked down at his plate and laid his fork down. “I touched his arm the other day. He’s… _ there _ . I don’t think he’s a ghost. No.”

“And anything we could do to get out of this situation would hurt him?”

“I don’t know. Like I said, I don’t think he's a ghost, but I’m pretty sure he’s not a demon either. He’s… not acting like one. They're not human. He’s pretty human.”

“Where are you getting that? He thought the way to talk to you was to grope you in the shower.”

Yuugi laughed, pink dusting his cheeks and he shook his head. “In his defense you do that.”

He scoffed, smiling down at his eggs-benedict and picked up his fork and knife. “I married you. I’m allowed. He’s not.”

“Yeah. We need to work on that.” Yuugi started laughing again and shook his head. “Though I’d rather have hands in my hair and kisses than being body slammed into the wall like Joey does all the time. It could be worse.”

“I already told you how to solve that problem.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“I volunteered.”

Yuugi giggled and tilted his head. “No.” 

They ate in silence, the food was surprisingly good for no one being there. Kaiba gave it that. When they finished, he paid their bill and stood up from the table. “If you want, we can look into the house’s sale records to figure out who lived in it before.”

“Ryou and I did that already,” he said, standing up and sliding his chair under the table, “No one lived in that house.”

“Did you look into who owned the property before the house was built?”

Yuugi blinked. “...No. We didn’t think about that.”

“Ryou, who’s favorite movie is Poltergeist, didn’t think to check the property?”

“When you say it like that it sounds like we weren't even trying.”

“It sounds like that to me.” He smiled and wrapped his arm around him. 

  
\---

A few days of property record searching later, Yuugi wondered what Atem would think of them looking into who he was as he walked in the front door and closed it behind him. He wanted a hot shower and then to sleep for a week. All of this on top of taking care of the Bed and Breakfast was just a lot.

“They’re looking for you.”

Glancing down the foyer to the living room, he saw Seto’s silhouette on the sofa, their game up on the TV providing the only light in the house. He lifted Yuugi’s controller and headset up, waved them, then dropped them on the sofa without another word. Did that mean he was in a good mood or a bad mood? Who really knew?

He dramatically groaned and shuffled through the foyer to the living room, rounding the sofa and falling onto it. After a long day he just wanted a shower… and some sympathy. Seto ignored him. Well, so much for that. 

Relenting to his plans and hopes dashed on the rocks of gamer priorities, he sat up right, putting the headset on. As soon as he did, Seto switched the TV on for him, his game already pulled up. He smiled looking through his stats. Apparently Seto was playing for him to get him up to speed with everyone else. He spoke too soon. Beaming, he grabbed the headset cord and plugged it into the controller.

Immediately he heard all his friends talking. 

Tea cackled over the headset as a notification popped up on the side of the screen that Joey’s character died. “How many times have you died, Joey?”

“Who’s countin’?”

“I am,” Seto said, “and you’re at 15, in one level.”

“That’s ‘cause this level sucks.”

“Or you suck.”

“Fuck you!”

Ryou sighed into the head set. “I’m counting your bickering and this is at 32. Can we stop? That’s a lot for one day.”

Tea giggled. “Yeah. Especially since it’s only been a couple hours.”

Yuugi looked up at Seto, surprised he was playing that long without him. He hadn’t done that in a long time. Seto must be in a very good mood. He smiled, leaning against his arm and getting an annoyed huff, but he couldn't stop him! “Only 32? Without me meditating? That’s actually a record.”

“Yuugi!”

He laughed, “Hey guys!”

“So how’s your ghost problem?”

He tensed up and side glanced at Seto, but he didn’t react to it at all. “It’s something.”

“Somethin’ is fuckin’ right! Tell Atem I said ‘hey’.”

Yuugi giggled and tried to say he would, but everyone was talking over him. 

“What?”

“What? Atem’s a cool guy.”

“Are you guys fucking with me?” Tea laughed nervously. 

“No,” Yuugi said, “We met our ghost I told you about.”

“Has anything changed Yuugi?” Ryou asked, “Are you guys still okay?”

“We’re fine,” Seto muttered, hyper focused on the game, “We’d be better if he’d stop trying to touch everything.”

Yuugi giggled, nodding,“That is true.”

As if talking about him summoned him out of nowhere, Atem leaned out from the side of the couch, focused on the TVs. Yuugi leaned forward too. “I was wondering where you were.”

Atem looked at him and smiled, then disappeared back behind the arm of the sofa. Yuugi thought he’d left to do whatever it was he did, but before he could turn his attention back to the TV, he saw Atem pop up beside Seto and climb over the arm… right into his lap. Seto sucked in a sharp breath, throwing his controller on the ground. “Damnit! What are you doing?!”

It had to be the most Yuugi’d seen Seto startled before in all the years he’d know him and he burst into laughter. 

“Personal space! I shouldn’t have to tell you that all the time.”

Atem turned back to face him and shifted on his lap so Seto could see over him (like that’s what the problem was) and smiled at him. Yuugi laughed so hard he couldn't breathe. 

“What’s going on over there?” Tea laughed. 

Yuugi was laughing too hard to answer her and Seto was too focused on getting Atem off his lap. “Get off.”

Atem acted like Seto was talking to someone else and reached down for the controller. 

It looked like Seto was going to push him off his lap. Yuugi was positive he either thought about it or was actually going to do it, but Atem lost his balance and started to fall. Instead of letting him fall (like Yuugi expected him to do), Seto wrapped his arm around him, pulling him back up and muttering under his breath about Atem being deaf, then grabbed the controller himself. Yuugi was still giggling at the look of excitement shining in Atem’s black eyes when he handed him the controller. “If you’re going to be in my way you might as well play.”

“Seriously, what’s going on?” Ryou asked.

“Atem apparently wanted to play.”

“Ha!” Joey chortled, “Yeah, he knows how.” 

“How does he know how?” Tea asked.

“He’s played with me before. Thought it was Yuug’. Totally wasn’t.”

Seto took the broken headphones off Atem’s head with Yuugi’s help since he had everything else in there and put his headphones on him. Atem sank back against Seto’s chest staring at the screen while he showed him what to do. Yuugi couldn’t take his eyes off them to play. This was nice. Something about this was nice. 

“Hey he’s pretty good,” Tea said, leading the group through the dungeon.

“He’s better than Joey,” Yuugi said, smirking, finally turning to the game. 

“He’s got help. That ain’t fair.”

Ryou was right on top of that. “I don’t think there’s enough help in the world for you Joey.”

Yuugi laughed, and glanced over to see Atem laughing as well. 

“Why’s this a ‘pick on Joey’ day?”

The headset crackled and popped and Yuugi winced from it. “What was that?”

“Maybe it’s the game.” Tea groaned, “My poor ears.”

Ryou and Joey said they’d heard the same thing. Then Seto tapped his leg making him look over. “What happened?”

“The headset made a weird noise. I don’t know if the game’s having issues. It’s not just mine. It happened to everyone.”

Seto immediately turned to Atem. “Stop talking.”

Atem lifted his shoulders and continued playing.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“That sound was him.”

“How do you know? Was he talking when I said something?”

He nodded and tapped Atem’s shoulder. He turned and Seto lifted the side off his ear so he'd hear him. “Say something to them.”

Atem gave him a look like that was a trap, since he did just tell him to stop talking.

“I’m proving a point. Talk.”

Atem nodded and Yuugi watched him mouth ‘hello Joey’ but the sound over the headset was crackles and pops. Yuugi laughed, astonished. “Wow. That’s cool. Don’t talk anymore though. I need these ears.”

Atem smiled fondly and turned his attention back to the game.


	7. Chapter Six

“Catch!” 

Atem watched a younger boy with (who he assumed was) his two brothers playing catch in the halls. He saw them a lot. They lived just outside of his reach though, so he only got to see them when they ventured into the older part of the house. The longer he watched their game, the more fun it looked. Yuugi was busy but maybe if he waited, eventually that ball would get out of their reach. Then he could play too.

“Trevor! Not in the hall!”

“Come on, Mom. There’s nothing here to break.”

“There are people here. What if you hit someone?”

The youngest one (maybe 5) smiled. “We’ll be careful Mom.”

She regarded them with concern, then sighed, “I better not hear anything broken.”

“Thanks Mom! You’re the best!”

She walked away, murmuring about how she knew, and Atem grinned, opening the door to the room a little wider to watch. She paused as she passed it, looking it over then shrugged her shoulders, continuing on. He watched them toss the ball back and forth until the middle one threw it to the youngest, Sebastian, if he remembered right. The ball sailed right by him into the room with him. Perfect.

Sebastian giggled and ran after it, like Atem wanted him to, and pushed open the door. But the instant he saw Atem, he screamed, backing up and slamming the door shut. Atem blew up his bangs, slumping against the bed frame. That didn’t go as well as he’d hoped. 

“Someone’s in there! It’s a ghost!”

“There’s no such thing as a ghost, Bash. You’re being a big baby.”

“There’s a ghost! I saw him!”

“Whatever.”

Atem shrank back into the shadows with the ball, watching the oldest one move around the room searching for it. He wouldn’t find it though. Atem had other plans. Moving through the shadows to another empty room further down the hall, he tossed the ball watching it roll along the ornate carpet runner. As it rolled towards them, the youngest and middle child both screamed and scrambled back sending the oldest one into the hall. “Where’d that come from?”

“Down the hall.” Sebastian grabbed Trevor’s sleeve and yanked on it. “I want Mom. Let’s get Mom.”

“What’d he look like?”

“I don’t know! His eyes were black and his hands were black. It’s a ghost! I want Mom.”

Atem started to shift back into the shadows to the other room to grab the neglected ball from the hallway but Yuugi walked into it, kneeling down beside Sebastian. “What’s going on? Are you okay? I heard you screaming.”

“There’s a ghost!”

“There is, huh?” 

Atem lifted his shoulders and ducked into the shadows when Yuugi started looking in the rooms for him. 

“Bash says there’s a ghost, but I haven’t seen anything.” Trevor humphed.

“Well, he’s right. There is a ghost,” Yuugi said so matter-of-factly that Atem leaned out of the shadows to see the children’s shocked faces. “His name is Atem and he probably just wants to play catch with you guys. He’s bored a lot.”

The middle kid giggled. “We’re bored a lot too.”

“I bet you are. He won’t hurt you. You don’t need to be afraid of him.”

Sebastian clung to Yuugi shaking his head like he thought he was lying to him.

“If you don’t want to play catch, do you know how to play keep away?”

Trevor beamed. “I love that game!”

“I hate that game,” the middle brother muttered under his breath.

“That’s just because you stink at it Mikey.”

Atem smiled. Sebastian, Trevor and Mikey. He’d have to remember that.

“I do not!”

“Don’t worry Mikey,” Yuugi laughed. “You won’t be playing against your brothers.”

All of them frowned at him, so did Atem, when Yuugi held his hand out to the room he was in. Did he see him or was he guessing? Even if he did know he was in there, Atem hesitated. He didn’t want the doll to get broken. 

“Do you not want to play anymore?”

Atem chewed his lip and decided to trust Yuugi. It’s his doll, if he thought it’d be fine, it’d be fine. Gently, he removed it from his hair and slowly put it into Yuugi’s hand, ignoring the kids jump and gasp. Yuugi shook the doll, making the bell ring, and smiled at it. “The aim of the game is to keep it away from Atem.”

All the kids looked at Yuugi like he’d lost his mind. 

“It’s fun. I promise. If you want I’ll play with you.”

“Okay!”

Yuugi started to get up then looked into the room, not seeing him, but frowning into it as a whole. “Rule number one: no touching the kids.”

Atem chuckled and nodded, despite Yuugi not seeing him. He shrunk into the shadows, moving to another room down the hall where Yuugi was headed too. He waited until just the right moment and snatched the doll from him, slamming the door shut so Yuugi couldn’t follow him. Yuugi laughed and shouted through the door, “Rule number two: no slamming doors.”

Atem ignored him, moving through the shadows back to the other side of the hall by the kids and stuck the doll just barely out of the door so it danced on the floor, bell ringing. Trevor laughed and dove for the doll, but he’d pulled it back into the room before he could get to it. 

Yuugi laughed down the hall and shrugged his shoulders. “See? It’s fun.”

Yuugi added 3 more rules while they played, mostly because of some complaints from the hall upstairs. No running down the stairs and keep the screaming to a minimum. The third rule seemed obvious AFTER the fact. Atem found a good spot in a nook on the upper floor that was a small jump from the upper railing. He thought for sure the kids couldn't get him there and he could watch them run around the house looking for him. Unfortunately Trevor saw him and tried to jump over the banister for the doll. Rule number three: no putting the doll just out of reach in dangerous places. 

Atem added another one, for himself: be gentle with the younger one. He didn’t like the doll being snatched from him. The first time he did, he screamed and wanted to see his mother again; so Atem gave him Topper to keep him company and didn't snatch the doll from him anymore. Not that he needed to, he could just take it and Sebastian would let him. The whole point was to have fun, this way he could and it wouldn’t scare him. 

Playing with the kids was less tiring than playing with Yuugi, probably because of the ‘no touching’ rule. He never needed to show more than his hand, never needed to use any energy to move things or tip the game in his favor. He was doing just fine. 

  
\---

Kaiba walked through the Bed and Breakfast front doors to the three boys running through the lobby down the hall, a small bell ringing with them. He rolled his eyes. That would be Yuugi’s fault. Sure enough he giggled watching them run down the hall, keenly waiting for something to happen. Before he could even get to the checkout counter squeals and giggles pulled his attention to the boys diving for the doll by an unoccupied room. He turned back to Yuugi and shook his head. 

“What?”

“Are you sure that was wise?”

“He’s bored. I can’t play that game all the time. I don't know if any of you knew this, but I'm old.” Yuugi giggled, then took a step to the side to pick up some receipts. “Besides I made sure the first rule was: no touching the kids.”

“That’s a very good rule… if he follows it.”

“I’m watching them. I can see  _ everything _ !”

“Since he’s distracted, I wanted to make sure you talked to Marla and still want to go,” he grumbled, glancing down the hall at the kids running towards them. 

“Yes.” Yuugi laughed. “I let Marla know we’ll be gone. If it’ll help figure out more about Atem, we should go.”

Kaiba nodded, but he wasn’t buying that it had anything to do with anything in the realm of reality.

“Ryou’s been texting me all day.”

“What about?”

“He’s worried about us.”

“Why?”

Yuugi pointed up the stairs as a small bell rang, followed by a lot of giggles and laughter. 

“We’re fine. I told him that already.”

“I know. He wants to come out earlier than they were planning.”

“And do what?”

“Hopefully nothing.” Yuugi leaned on the counter, watching the boys run through the lobby again. “I’ll at least have some answers for him tomorrow, right?”

“Maybe.” 

He started to ask Yuugi how things were that morning, but Trevor finally noticed he was there. “Hello Mr. Kaiba!”

“Want to play with us?” Sebastian asked, but Kaiba’s attention was on Topper in his hair.

“Where did he come from?”

All three of them locked up like they weren't supposed to have him and Mikey grabbed Topper from Sebastian's hair and hid him behind his back. “We found him.”

He scoffed, shaking his head, “Put him back when you’re finished. Atem will be upset if you take him home with you.”

They blinked and looked at each other then turned back to him nodding. “Okay we will.”

They ran off again, but not before whispering to each other loudly, “Mr. Kaiba knows about the ghost too?”

“Sure he does. He’s not scared of anything.”

Yuugi mockingly glared at him while he smirked and turned on his heel to go back home. 

  
\---

Kaiba sat down in his office after cleaning up the house and using the damn magnet on the dishwasher since Atem was making him feel guilty about it. He’d get credit for it this time, but to be fair, he took Atem’s credit the first 8 times he did it. It was only fair. While he waited for Yuugi to get home, he unboxed one of his chess sets. He hadn’t played since Mokuba died. Maybe it was time to start playing it again. He set it up, staring at it, then the clock when he felt something cold grip his thigh by his knee. He jolted back, sending the rolling chair into the wall and glared at Atem, sitting under his desk with the rat in his hair. “I thought you were playing with the boys. Why are you in here?”

Atem blinked sleepily and took Topper from his hair, holding him out to him. He wasn’t moving and it made him frown, but taking him out of Atem’s hands, he realized he was just asleep. Apparently the kids wore them both out. He started to ask what he wanted him to do with him, when he realized Atem was well on his way to laying back against his leg, closing his eyes like he was going to sleep. “You can’t sleep there.”

Atem looked up at him, but it didn’t look like he heard him. 

“Why don’t you sleep somewhere else?”

He still just stared at him. 

He rolled his eyes and huffed, pushing his chair back, making Atem fall forward. Served him right. After he laid Topper down on the desk, who stirred and went back to sleep, he stood up, pushing the chair back against the wall so he could kneel down. Atem smiled sleepily and leaned back against the desk. 

“Overdid it a little?” He shook his head. “Well you can’t sleep here.”

His eyes unfocused and slowly closed.

Kaiba huffed, realizing he wasn't going to move unless he moved him. He started to reach out to pick him up, but hesitated. Could he just pick him up? Wouldn’t his hands go right through him? He was able to lay on his leg as if he were alive and there, so Kaiba decided to try it anyway, slipping his arms under his back and bent knees. He lifted him up, a little surprised how heavy, solid and cold he was. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but this wasn't it. Staring down at him, eyes closed, cold, and not breathing, gave him the sickening feeling he held a dead body not an obnoxious ghost. 

His mouth felt dry, forcing himself to look away from him at the sleepy rat on the desk. He’d have to either come back for him or make Yuugi deal with him when he came home. Deciding to leave him to Yuugi, he carried Atem through the office to the door, fiddling with the handle for a minute before he got it open. Dead weight didn’t make opening doors easy. Stepping into the hallway he looked down both directions trying to figure out which way he wanted to take him. He probably wanted to go downstairs. It’s where he should take him, but he just stared down the hall waiting for Atem to make some kind of indication where he preferred to be without attempting to wake him up.

He got one.

The bedroom door at the top of the stairs slowly opened up. 

He stared at it, then glanced down at Atem, looking up at him with dull lidded eyes. Putting him up there didn’t sit right, especially with feeling how he was; dead weight, dead weight up the stairs and in his room in his bed. He shivered, but walked up there anyway, deciding he was never picking him up again. It wasn’t the weight or the cold, it was this overwhelming feeling looming over him of touching death, being just a little too aware of his own mortality. Not that he was afraid of dying, or even of Atem hurting him, just the idea of it, like he could feel it was fast approaching if he didn't put him down. 

He crossed the room and laid Atem gently on Yuugi’s side of the bed, simply because it was closest to the door, closest to putting him down without dropping him on the floor. Atem rolled onto his side, looking up at him and mouthed something but he didn’t hear it. “What?”

He mouthed it again, still didn't hear anything.

He sighed in frustration, just wanting to get out of the room and go back to his office as fast as he could. Instead he leaned down to hear him. Atem grinned at him and sat up, kissing him then laid back down. The only thing he could think, as he stood up straight, was how Yuugi said that he liked both of them. Up to that moment, he thought Yuugi was just mistaking Atem’s lack of social skills as something else, but now he realized Yuugi was right. Though he had no idea what to do about that.

  
\---

“Are you in here?” Yuugi peeked into the office and smiled when he saw Seto at his desk with his chess board out. “What are you doing up?”

He looked up, then back down at it. “Atem’s upstairs and he left his rat.”

Yuugi giggled and walked into the room. Topper laid on the chessboard between the rows of pieces, lightly kicking his foot every now and then. Either from a dream or from Seto brushing his fingers over top of his head. It was really sweet to see. “He’s really sleeping, isn’t he?”

“They both are.”

Yuugi glanced at him, but didn’t ask anything as he scooped Topper up and cradled him to his chest. He followed Seto out of the office and up the stairs to their bed room, a little surprised to see Atem laying in his spot on their bed. He frowned and looked up at Seto who was just staring at him asleep on the bed. Something was off about the way he looked at him, but Yuugi wasn’t sure if he should press it or not. Instead, he walked into the room and over to the bed beside Atem. He laid Topper in the crook of his arm and Topper snuggled into him. Smiling and trying to hold back a laugh, he glanced back up at Seto; still in the doorway. “Should we wake him up?”

“I have no idea.”

Atem looked so peaceful there with Topper, he didn’t want to wake him. Seto knew he was there in the first place, so he must think it’s okay. Walking around the bed, he held his hand out to him, smiling. “Let’s go to bed then.”

Seto hesitated, still staring at Atem with a strange frown, then walked over to him. They got ready for bed and Yuugi climbed in first. After all, it was his side that was taken. Seto wrapped his arm around him, pulling his back to his chest and giving them plenty of room between them and Atem. That’s the second strange thing he’d done. He hated being cooped up on the edge of the bed. 

They just laid like that in the uncomfortable silence while Yuugi tried to think of how to ask him about it. Then he sighed, watching Atem sleep. How was he sleeping to begin with? “Do ghosts even sleep?” he whispered.

“Apparently he does.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it?”

“Not as weird as he is.” Yuugi watched Seto reach out and push his shoulder then wrapped his arm snug around him again. “He’s…  _ there _ .”

“Right?!” Yuugi gasped and giggled softly. “It’s weird.”

“…It’s like having a dead body there.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true.”

“Yeah, but if you don’t think about it, it’s not as bad.”

Seto humphed and tightened his grip on him, laying his chin in the crook of Yuugi’s neck.

“It really isn’t. He’s just… something else.”

Seto humphed again.

“How did he get up here and Topper downstairs?”

“I carried him up here.”

“Wow.”

“…Never doing that again.”

“Why?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Try.”

Seto was quiet for a while and Yuugi let him think, watching Atem sleep in the bed across from him. Topper twitched and moved before settling back to sleep and he smiled. He never thought he’d be okay with a rat in his bed. Topper wasn’t a rat to him though. He was part of the family. If that made any sense.

“Do you know the saying when you get a shiver it’s because someone walked over your grave?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s how it felt carrying him up here. Like being faced with the idea of my death. It was… I don’t know.”

Yuugi turned, as best he could with Seto practically laying on him and kissed his jaw. “I’m sorry.” He turned back to look at Atem and sighed, “It’s easy to forget he’s not alive.”

Seto hummed softly in agreement.

They laid in silence while Yuugi wished Atem actually was alive. His friends would love him. He’s the first friend he’d ever had that Seto seemed to really like. Then again if he was alive, he wouldn’t be here now like this, laying in the bed with them; with Topper. 

“He kissed me when I brought him up here.”

Yuugi turned again and smirked. “I told you he liked us.”

“Or he’s still following leads for the wrong things.”

“Nope. He would’ve kissed Joey when he was here if that was the case.”

“That would’ve been something to see.”

Yuugi put his hand over his mouth to quiet his laughter as he nodded. They laid there for a little longer when Seto hummed. Yuugi turned and looked at him. ”What?”

He took a short breath then sighed, “I’ll talk to you about it later.”

“Why not now?”

Seto gestured to Atem and Topper. Fair enough.

  
\---

Yuugi woke up exactly how he’d fallen asleep, laying on his side facing Atem. Topper wasn’t there anymore and he wondered where he scurried off to, before looking over Atem’s face. He wasn’t breathing, wasn’t moving, just laid exactly as he was. Seto’s description of laying next to a dead body came to mind and he tried to get it out of his head as soon as he thought it, but that’s exactly how it was. He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t supposed to be breathing. He wasn’t moving, but what else was he supposed to do? Yuugi reached out and brushed his fingers over Atem’s cold ink stained cheek; still soft, still lifeless. “Atem,” he whispered, laying his palm on his cheek, “wake up.”

For a moment so brief he wasn’t positive it happened at all, Atem opened his eyes and they weren't black. He had eyes the color of elderberry wine. Yuugi blushed when the corners of Atem’s eyes wrinkled and he smirked at him, just like he did when he touched him before. Yuugi jerked his hand back and shrank into the blankets, glaring at Atem’s silent laughter as he stretched, rolled over, and fell right off the edge of the bed. Yuugi gasped, expecting to hear a thud, and shot over the bed, but looking down at the floor; he was gone. 

“Did you drop something?”

Yuugi looked up at the bedroom door, smiling at Seto and the ever elusive Topper sitting on his shoulder eating a piece of cut apple. “Atem’s awake.”

“I noticed. Are you ready to leave?”

“I just woke up.”

Seto humphed and leaned on the door frame, bringing his coffee mug to his lips. Yuugi ignored him and pushed himself up and out of bed, moving around the room to get dressed. “What time is it?”

“9:16.”

“When did you wake up?”

“6.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I wanted peace and quiet-” Seto grinned “-and I wanted to have coffee and read the paper without cups and magnets moving on their own.”

“Hehe. Yeah.”

After getting dressed (with Seto standing in the doorway, drinking his coffee, and watching him the whole time), he moved past him and stood on his toes to kiss his cheek as he went. Snickering to himself, he walked down the stairs and through the hallway to the kitchen. He’d like some coffee too, but he doubted Seto would wait for him and the coffee pot was empty (as he should have expected with him being up 3 hours before him). With his dreams of coffee dashed, he knelt down in front of the fridge and wrote a message to Atem with the magnets saying they’d be back in a few hours. The front door opened and closed and he rolled his eyes with a mocking groan. Just because he was dressed didn’t mean he was ready. He bolted up and ran through the house to the door before Seto left him there. It hadn’t happened yet, but it could.

The drive was peaceful. Seto told him about what he’d read in the paper, how it talked about the cars in the show they’d seen. Particularly about Ivy’s car. Apparently, she bought it as a gift to her partner the day they decided to try and get sober. Ivy’s partner overdosed in a relapse a few years later, but Ivy kept the car looking exactly as it was then and used it as her motivation to stay sober and her connection with her partner ever since. It was sad, but really sweet. It made his mind wander, was there anything like that he’d keep to remind him of Seto? Luckily for him, they arrived at the library before he had a chance to think it through. He didn’t want to think about it.

The town library looked like an old 70’s bank remodeled to be a library. Still had the tables where you could walk up and sign your checks or deposit slips. Seto walked right past it, ignoring the librarian’s sweet smile and wave. Yuugi waved back. Computers lined the back wall, and that’s where he assumed Seto was headed, but he turned to go to a different machine that Yuugi hadn’t seen since college. “Ahhhh I love these things.” He giggled softly getting an eye roll in return.

“Pull up the property’s sale records,” Seto said, gesturing to the computer next to the old Microfilm reader. “I’ll see if I can find something you and Ryou missed.”

“I told you there’s nothing.”

Seto humphed and walked away, so Yugi sat down at the computer and clicked through websites so he’d have everything pulled up when he got back. He had it pulled up and waited, looking around the sleepy library. Maybe two other people were there, aside from a mother in the children’s corner with her two toddlers. Their giggles filled the room. He didn’t mind, and it looked like the others there didn’t either. They probably all knew each other and Yuugi thought that was pretty cool. 

“Have it pulled up?”

He turned his attention to Seto, sitting down at the microfilm reader with film in a small basket. He glanced at the computer screen and hummed, then put a roll of film into the machine. Yugi sighed, looking at the sale records. “It was owned by the town for the longest time, See?”

Seto nodded, not looking at it at all.

“Then it went to the Ishtar family,” Yuugi said, leaning back in the plastic chair. “Then I bought it.”

“From that family?”

“No. The property was sold by someone else. From what the agent said, the owners had a nasty divorce and had to sell the property, split the money from it. It wasn’t the original family that owned it though. It was under a different name.”

Seto hummed again.

“We already looked through all of that.”

Another hum.

“Are you even listening to me?”

When Seto hummed he wrinkled his nose and poked his side. Seto hardly flinched, flashing him an amused smirk before reaching out and grabbing the side of his chair, scraping it across the floor until it clinked with the side of his own. Yuugi smiled, laying his head on Seto’s shoulder, and watched him sift through slides of old news articles. He did this with Ryou already. He wasn’t going to find anything they didn’t already find. 

Yuugi remembered some of the articles. Several years before the house was built the town suffered from a bad wave of scarlet fever that affected the children in a small school most. The article about the three doctors that helped the families of the town scrolled by on the screen. He remembered that article most. One doctor was from the town, the other two came from neighboring places, one from Domino City. The doctor from the town was the only one not interviewed and Yuugi wondered why. 

Seto scrolled through a few more articles when Yuugi heard the click of heels. He didn’t think anything of it at first, but they pierced through the silence and even through the giggling toddlers, louder still as he realized they were headed straight for them. He fought the urge to turn around and look at who it was. It wasn’t really any of his business and the likelihood of someone coming up to them to talk to them in the library (that only Marla knew they’d be at and she didn’t wear heels) was slim to none. 

The heels stopped somewhere behind them and Yuugi tried to use his peripherals to see if she’d sit at one of the computers. She did not. Seto shifted away from him, making him frown and watch him. Here he was worried about being nosy, Seto made a point to turn in his seat and face the woman, who was actually right behind them. “Is there a problem?”

She glanced at Yuugi and he swallowed the lump in his throat recognizing her instantly. He didn’t remember her name, but he remembered she was the one trying to buy the house before he did. The resort company that tried everything they could to get the property from him even after he bought it. He frowned at her, though she didn’t appear phased by it. “Yes, Mr. Kaiba.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card, holding it out. “I know you and your husband are busy and this is not the best time, but there is a matter I must discuss with you as soon as possible.”

Yuugi bit the inside of his cheek when Seto humphed, turned around, and went right back to the article he was looking at. He started to tell her just to give him the card and they’d ‘call her later’ but his eyes focused on the name printed across it. He reached out and gently took the card from her. Looking at it closer to make sure he wasn’t losing his mind, he blinked. It was spelled the same as the one on the sale records too. “Uh… thank you, Ms. Ishtar.”

Seto paused, turning to face him and they both shared a look of understanding. She wasn’t a hired real estate agent from a resort company attempting to pressure them into selling the place, her family owned that property before. They’d probably know all about Atem, who he was, what he was, and why he was there. Or maybe they didn’t and bringing it up would make the whole thing worse. Yuugi didn’t know what to do.

“I am free for the rest of the day,” she said politely, still looking at Seto instead of both of them; and honestly it pissed him off a little bit, but if she was the one he’d told no a million times before, he supposed he deserved it. “Please give me a call.”

Seto didn’t respond so Yuugi nodded to her. She turned on her heel and walked, heels still clicking loudly on the floor, towards the door. He turned in his seat, leaning over against Seto’s shoulder, but didn’t lay his head back down. Instead he stared down at the card. It named her as the CEO of the resort company that tried to buy the property, but it also listed all the other things she was involved in. She had her fingers in every single part of the town; from the head of the small business board, to the owner and proprietor of the cemetery on the outskirts of the town, and head of several other boards and organizations for business as well as charity groups etc. Where did this woman find the time to have a day off? “Do you think we should call her?”

“She’s probably asking to buy the property.”

Yuugi sighed, looking up at the microfilm reader. “She might know about Atem.”

“Maybe.” Seto leaned forward to change out the film. “Or she only wants to buy the property.”

“It might be worth a shot.”

“It might be worth selling it.”

Yuugi stared at him eyes wide. “What?”

“We talked about moving. Maybe this is our cue to do it.”

“Well, yeah but… What about Atem?”

“What about him?”

“If she buys it and they want to tear it all down, where will he go?”

Seto turned to face him, but Yuugi couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “We aren’t sure what he is, or why he’s there or if we want to stay or not. We probably should call her.”

Yuugi glared down at the card. “Even if we did decide to do that, I don’t want to sell it to her. Look.” He sat the card down on the microfilm reader so Seto could see it and gestured to it. “She’s not trying to get a family heirloom or something. She owns half the town! People like that don’t deserve our house. If we’re selling it, we’re selling it to someone who’d love it, not use it for money.”

Seto looked at the card then turned to face him, making him look at him; an amused shine in his eyes and fond smirk on his lips. “You do know you married someone exactly like that, right?”

“That’s different.”

“How is it different?”

Yuugi blushed, glaring at the card. “It just is.”

Seto pulled out his wallet from his pocket and sifted through it, pulling out a dirty and worn business card. He laid it right next to hers and then gave him the same smirk. “It isn’t.”

Yuugi squinted at it. “I’ve never seen that before in my life. Your cards were really plain.”

He snickered, looking at it too. “Mokuba made it to prove a point. He said that I was doing too much.”

“You were.”

Yuugi smiled, seeing Mokuba had added smart ass ‘titles’ onto the very bottom of the card. One of those being ‘Self appointed King of Everything’ and another ‘Lead Chair of the Killjoy Committee’. He reached out and put his hand over Seto’s, squeezing it gently. “I miss having back up.”

Seto huffed sharply through his nose, smiling. 

“I don’t want to move.”

“Neither do I.”

“So, we’re not calling her?”

Seto shook his head and gestured to the microfilm reader. “We don’t need to. There  _ were _ deaths on the property.”

Yuugi looked at the obituary page of a whole family: a father, mother, their two sons, and a bit about the daughter they’d lost to scarlet fever a few years before. “How do you know that was on the property? No one lived in that house.”

“Not the house, the property.” Seto pushed Yuugi’s chair (subsequently him as well) back over to the computer. “The town is listed as owning the property, but according to a few of the articles, our property had several families living on it using it as farm land, probably leasing it from the town. The Ishtar family received it from the town 10 years after the house was built. He could be from this family or from any one of the other leasees.”

Yuugi nodded, then took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. “Well… If he was from that family, it looks like they died in a fire and no articles around that time talk about murders. So he’s not a psycho serial killer.”

Seto chuckled and turned off the microfilm reader, then picked up both business cards and put them in his wallet. “I think we’ve found enough for today.”

“Time to go home?”

Seto pushed the chair back, watching him close out the windows on the computer. “I was thinking we should get some lunch.”

“I love that idea.”

\---

After tossing and turning for what felt like hours, Yuugi gave up and decided to get up. He couldn’t stop thinking about the woman finding them in the library somehow, or the thought that Atem might have a family he couldn’t remember. What happened that caused the fire? Was that even his family? And the millions of other questions that raced through his mind. He snuck out of bed and tiptoed to the door, silently opening and closing it behind him. The hallway was darker than usual with the kitchen light off. He felt along the wall to the kitchen and flipped on the light, seeing the basement door open again. He rolled his eyes and walked over to it to shut it, but then he heard a strange winding sound. He frowned and put his hand on the door frame. 

He thought about looking into it, but the very idea of going into the basement by himself terrified him. At least, it did until he saw Atem move into view then move away. He smiled, wondering what he was doing. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he started to walk down the stairs, keeping his eyes on where Atem was. The further down the stairs, the more he saw of Atem and what was making the winding sound. Apparently Atem brought their record player downstairs. It looked like he tried to get the old one to work and gave up. He squinted, but he couldn’t make out what the record was. Not that it kept his attention on it long.

He was enraptured watching Atem. He wasn't walking around, like he’d previously thought. He was dancing. Yuugi smiled and wrapped his arm around the post at the bottom of the stairs not wanting to disturb him. Atem held onto his headphones, eyes closed and a euphoric smile on his face, singing soundlessly while he danced across the dark basement floor. The only light coming from the open door at the top of the stairs. Atem didn’t seem to notice.

The longer he stood there, the more he recognized the song he sang and if it wasn't ironic on level’s he couldn’t fathom, he didn’t know what was. So Atem found the record Marla gave him when she was clearing out some old things when she moved in. She had him listen to this particular song ‘Ghost in this House’ while they cleaned the lobby one night, and now, watching Atem dancing to it, he loved it a million times more than he already did. 

Atem eventually opened his eyes when he turned to face the stairs. Yuugi took a breath to tell him hello, but Atem locked up, panicked from being startled or maybe embarrassed from being seen, and vanished. Yuugi gasped, surprised that he’d do that and fell back onto the steps at the same time his headphones hit the ground with a loud clunk. He laughed to himself, looking around the dimly lit basement as he pulled himself up to his feet. “Hey it’s just me,” he snickered, putting his hand over his racing heart, “Come back.”

He didn’t.

Yuugi walked towards the headphones and disconnected them from the record player so it could play for him to listen to as well. He hummed along with it, until he saw Atem poke his head out from one of the boxes. He giggled and waved for him to come back over. “Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.”

Atem disappeared behind the box and Yuugi sighed. He looked down at the record player, reaching for it to turn it off when an ink stained hand reached out from behind one of the boxes and gently grasped his. The record reset on it’s own; which by now he should be used to, but it held his attention for a moment with surprise anyway. Atem pulled him away from it and smiled, leading him to where he was before. Yuugi felt his heart leap into his throat when Atem put his hands on his shoulders and wrapped his cold arms around his waist. 

He was a jumbled mess of flustered nerves too warm, too cold, dancing across the concrete floor with Atem’s arms around him. Surprised Atem wasn’t as cold as the floor beneath his bare feet, softer too,Yuugi let his fingers brush over the back of his neck. He was soft and he was cold and he was dead and that's what it felt like; dancing with a dead body, somehow moving on his own. Instead of feeling unsettled or repulsed, he was sad. Atem wasn’t alive, no matter what that would never change. As sad as that was, it didn’t dampen his spirits. If anything, it kept his heart from carrying him away in murmured beats too fast to count. Atem soundlessly singing along to the song again, but he felt like he was singing it to him. He closed his eyes when Atem pressed his forehead to his; cold, but he didn’t mind. He was warm enough for both of them.

He couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop it from happening, dancing in the dark with Atem. The dishes, the doll stuffed in his hair, the brushes over his arms, his back, and his cheek through the day. He said the first day he loved him and in that moment, Yuugi believed him. 

When the song ended he wanted to thank him for coming back and for dancing with him, for the dishes and for everything, but he was still a frustrated mess, looking into Atem’s eyes. It just… came out. “I love you.”

Atem looked just as shocked as he was then he blinked, his eyes changing to the color of elderberry wine and he smiled, mouthing, ‘I love you too.’

_ Oh no… _


	8. Chapter 7

When Kaiba woke up, Yuugi wasn’t there. Atem said he’d went to Joey’s and Yuugi’d left a note, on the board he normally put stupid pet names on, saying the same thing. He spent all day in the Bed and Breakfast, watching Atem play with the boys as if everything was fine. He felt in his gut something wasn’t right, especially when Yuugi wasn’t answering his phone, but decided to leave him be. He thought maybe he just needed a break from everything. Hell, he could use one too.

It stormed all day, making it feel later than it was. His anxiety grew worse with every hour and the gloom only added to it. The only thing stopping him from driving to Joey’s to get him was Atem. If something happened, he should know, and it didn’t seem like he knew anything. Around 9 at night, he went home, looking through the house for Yuugi. He wasn’t home. 

At 930, Atem started asking when he’d be back.

At 10 Kaiba caught Atem sitting in front of the window staring out at the rain as if he were waiting.

The stroke of 11 his phone rang.

“What do you want Wheeler? Where’s Yuugi?”

Joey groaned into the phone. “He’s here. Come get your damn husband before I knock some sense inta him.”

He frowned. Yuugi and Joey almost never fought. Now that he thought about it, he could only recall one time they fought. “What happened?”

“Just get him. He’s bein’ an idiot and he ain’t listenin’ ta nobody.”

He sucked in a breath to demand he tell him what was going on, but he’d hung up on him. The magnets scraped across the fridge and he scowled at it pocketing his phone. ‘iS yuugi oKay?’

“He better be.”

He stormed through the living room and snatched his keys off the table. The front door opened on it’s own, but he made sure to close it,  _ hard _ . The drive over to Ivy’s in the rain didn’t help. He could hardly see the road. The muscles in his shoulders twinged from how hard he gripped the wheel. He pulled the car up to the curb in front of her small white bungalow and parked, reaching for the handle to open his door. Some yelling stopped him and he looked up at Joey in the doorway of the bungalow and noticed Yuugi running through the rain to the car. His hand hovered over the handle, as Yuugi yanked open the passenger door and practically fell into the seat before slamming it closed. 

The rain distorted the window but he could still make out Joey lifting his arms up and letting them drop to his sides. He spun around and slammed his door too. Kaiba quirked a brow, glancing back over at Yuugi; red puffy eyes, sniffling and scowling at the dashboard. He just stared at him for a moment, expecting him to say something, but when he didn’t, he reached for the gear shift. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Alright then.

He kept glancing over at Yuugi while he drove off; his knee pulled up to his chest in the passenger seat, watching the rain pelt the car and the ground. He still hadn’t said why he was at Joey’s or what happened, preferring to stare at nothing. He hit the signal to turn into their drive when Yuugi finally spoke, “Can we go somewhere else?”

He hit it again and kept driving down the windy highway, but that didn’t prompt more conversation like he’d hoped. Instead Yuugi stayed as he was, not suggesting a place to go, not explaining himself at all. They drove for at least 15 minutes before he found another place to turn, a small parking lot that led to a trail for a park. He pulled in and parked in one of the spaces, shutting the car off. Still Yuugi didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just sat there.

“Why were you at Joey’s?”

“Ivy’s.”

“Don’t.”

Yuugi sighed and leaned his forehead against the window. 

“Did Atem scare you again?”

“No.”

“Then tell me what the hell happened.”

He didn’t immediately respond. Instead he sighed, shaking his head, still pressed to the glass. He sat up, turning in his seat to lean his back against the door, but he didn’t look up at him. “I couldn't sleep last night. I couldn’t stop thinking and well… I couldn’t sleep. So I went into the kitchen to get some milk to drink and I heard something in the basement. I found Atem down there.” Yuugi’s jaw quivered and he shook his head. “I can’t go back home. I need to move.”

He just stared at him, trying to figure out how ‘Atem thought everything was okay’ somehow morphed into ‘Yuugi need to move now and didn’t want to go back home’. “That's not a reason to be at Joey’s. What happened? Did he hurt you or-”

“No.” Yuugi sniffled and looked up at the windshield. “No he didn't hurt me.”

“Then what happened?”

He wiped the tear off his cheek. “When’s the last time we said ‘I love you’ to each other?”

Kaiba frowned, leaning back against the door to face him better. He honestly had no idea, couldn't be that long though. “When we opened the Bed and Breakfast.”

Yuugi shook his head. “Nope. That was me telling you I loved your hair because the wind messed it up.”

He started to argue, but that sounded right.… When was it?

“April 15. 2 years ago.”

“That’s not true.”

“April 15 is the day you woke up in the hospital.”

“I know when-”

“You asked me why I was there and I told you I loved you.”

He wanted to tell him he was wrong, but the more he thought about it, he wasn’t. “Why didn’t you say something before?”

“It wasn’t a big deal. It’s just not something you do and it wasn’t important before. I knew you loved me. You do things that let me know all the time and it never bothered me before, but you haven’t told me you loved me in two years. Atem tells me he loves me every day whether I want him to or not. And I know you’re doing what you can because of everything and all the way up until now, it’s-” He looked up again out the windshield and paused, twisting his hair around his finger. “I believe you love me and I believe he does too. So last night I… I was thinking that, and it just-” Yuugi gestured vaguely from himself towards the dashboard and sniffled again- “came out. I couldn’t stop it. I was trying to thank him for everything, the dishes and being there for us, for you, but… I was thinking how I believed that and… And I thought he’d either ignore me or take it as ‘a friend’ but no. He lit up and said it back.” Yuugi laid his head on his knee. 

“Oh…”

He sat there, watching Yuugi silently cry in the passenger seat trying to figure out how he felt about that. All he felt was numb. He looked out the windshield, trying to make himself feel something, like he should, but it just… didn’t happen. He wasn’t mad, shocked maybe, but not mad. In fact, he had more reaction to Yuugi saying that to his friends than this. He got into a pretty lengthy fight with Yuugi for telling Tea he loved her when he got off the phone with her one time. He didn't understand why he’d say that; Yuugi didn’t understand why he couldn’t wrap his head around him loving his friends. It wasn’t like that though or Yuugi would be laughing about it or saying it much like he did about Atem kissing him when they were at breakfast. He said Atem liked them both, now he’s saying that he loves Atem. 

Thinking that made him frustrated and jealous (gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white), but it held a weight of guilt around it that kept him from getting out of the car and walking home in the rain. Yuugi was right; he never said it. He thought he was doing enough to show it, but if that were true… he was doing that for Atem as well… Did he have the right to be upset?

“You haven’t said anything.”

Kaiba turned, meeting Yuugi's red puffy eyes. “I’m not sure what to say.”

“…If you want a d-”

“Yuugi, if you finish that sentence, I swear-”

He smiled weakly and looked away. “I couldn’t sleep after that and I just kept thinking about it. That’s why I went to see Joey. I told him what happened. The only thing I can think to do is move. I need to figure out what’s going on with me. If I stay there, this is just-”

“What?” Kaiba turned fully in the seat to face him again, scowling. “What is staying there going to do? He’s a little dead.”

Yuugi laughed then frowned, staring down at his lap. “I… I don’t know.”

“So let me get this straight: you want to move, by yourself, away from Atem AND me so you can figure out what the fu- Did Wheeler suggest that? It sounds like something stupid he’d say.”

“No. Actually he said you’d blame him for it and we got into a fight about it because he insisted I tell you it wasn’t his idea. It’s my idea, and your both fucking wrong. It’s not stupid!”

“How isn’t it?! What is moving going to do aside from drain the last of our money and create an even bigger problem the whatever the fuck is wrong here?! Do you even know what that is?” 

“Urgh!” Yuugi buried his hands in his hair and grit his teeth. 

“Do you love me?”

“Yes, but-”

“No. It’s either yes or no.”

He took a shaky breath. “Yes.”

“Whether you want to believe me or not, I do love you, Yuugi. I wouldn’t have moved to the middle of nowhere in a condemned junk heap, using all of our savings to remodel and open the worst possible business imaginable if I didn’t want to be with you.”

Yuugi slumped down in the seat and covered his face. “I’m so sorry.”

“Stop. That’s not what I meant.”

“It is what you meant. You never wanted to be here. You didn’t want to marry me, you didn’t want the house, and you didn’t want to sell the company. Those are all my ideas, not yours.” Yuugi’s voice broke and he hiccuped. “I’m trying so hard to make things better for you and all I’m doing is making things worse. Atem’s done more for you in one day than I have in 3 years!”

“What are you talking about?”

“You feel better, right?” when he didn’t answer, Yuugi continued, “Nothing I’ve  _ ever  _ done makes you feel any better.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t and that’s not your fault. It’s mine. There’s something wrong with me. I don’t know why I feel like this and I don’t know what to do about it. Like you just said, I should know all of that and I know he’s dead. I shouldn’t feel like this at all. I don’t know if it’s the house, I don’t know if it’s something else or if it’s just how I actually feel when I sit down and think about it. So I have no idea what to do about it. I can’t just ‘go home’ and think about it. I can’t talk to you about it except for now in the car because he’s everywhere. I don’t want to hurt him, I don’t want to hurt you. I’m scared that I already have. I know I already have.” Yuugi covered his face and sobbed, “I need to move so I can fix it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before? Any of this before?”

“I wanted you to feel better not take you down with me. I thought if we moved out here and got away from everything, things would work themselves out but,” He lifted his hand then dropped it down on his knee. “I’m messing up everything. I don’t want to take anything else from you. I need to move.”

He looked away from him, staring out the windshield. He wanted to be furious. Wished he could deal with it that way; take him back to Domino right then and there and be done with it. If he wanted to leave, good riddance! But he wasn't and that thought was terrifying. He didn’t want Yuugi to leave and he didn’t want to explain to Atem why. He wouldn't understand, Kaiba didn't understand.

Was it like Yuugi feared, he was just filling in cracks in their relationship or was it something else? He couldn't shake the feeling this was his fault. He should've talked to Yuugi about all of this when it came up, the several times it came up. It deserved to be addressed at the cafe, or when he told Yuugi about Atem kissing him, or at the library looking up information on who and what Atem was like he'd planned too. He had so many opportunities; Yuugi had opportunities. Neither actually did. It started to mix together with their talks about moving. It would come up, quickly get brushed off and ignored, only to be brought up again. Moving sounded sensible, just like being furious that Yuugi had feelings for someone else (dead or alive) sounded sensible .

He laid his head back against the seat, listening to the rain and Yuugi’s soft sniffles. He had no clue how to fix this, both Yuugi’s troubles and his own. Going home, packing their things and leaving, severing any connection between them, was the _right_ thing to do. It would be what Yuugi wanted, it would be the right thing, but it terrified him just as much as the thought of Yuugi leaving on his own. 

"I still love you. Nothing has changed with how I feel about you. I just need to move."

“If what you’re worried about is taking everything from me, leaving right now will definitely do that.” 

Yuugi sniffled and curled further into the seat. “I’m not leaving you. I was fine before we moved here. I just need-”

“No Yuugi, you weren’t. You just said you weren’t.”

“I said I don't know what’s going on with me. None of that was a problem before.”

“It probably was. I completely believe it was. You really like bottling things in if you think it’ll save someone else’s feelings because, to you, everyone else is more important.”

Yuugi didn't respond, sniffling and wiping his cheek. 

“My point is, you won’t feel any different than you do right now. The day you told me you loved me was exactly like that in the middle of a board meeting with 20 of our colleges over me making a sarcastic com-”

Yuugi groaned, attempting to cover his reddening face and change the subject. “Oh no! That never happened. You promised.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures and it did happen.”

“Urgh don’t remind me. That was probably the most embarrassing day of my life.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“Not that bad?! I told my boss, while I was getting him coffee when we weren't even dating yet, that I loved him in the middle of a really big deal meeting. Most embarrassing day of my life.”

“You got my attention.”

“I got everyone’s attention. I locked up, spilled the coffee everywhere, and ran out of the room like an idiot. I was so mortified about the whole thing. I still am. I didn’t think I could come back. I was going to quit.”

“But you stayed and it worked out.”

“…Yeah. It did.” Yuugi sighed and looked at him, laying his head back on the seat. “I don’t know whether the universe is trying to tell us we’re a lost cause or saying we’re destined to be together.”

“Don’t start that.”

Yuugi barked out a breathy laugh. “What? It’s true. I almost quit, you asked me out. We broke up, you proposed to me. We moved here and we have Atem.”

“Sounds like bad luck to me.” 

"I'm surprised you're not making another comment about Ryou's and my brilliant detective skills."

He laughed, put his hand over Yuugi’s, and squeezed it; feeling his lips curl when Yuugi wrapped both hands around his.  “I feel like every time we leave the house we’re debating on moving.”

“We are, aren’t we?”

“I’m not sure if that means we just need to do it or need to stop bringing it up because it’s not going to happen.”

"Could you stay after what I just said? We moved here to help you. You mean the world to me. I don't want to hurt you." He winced and sniffled. "And I suck at everything and have zero impulse control apparently."

"I could've told you that."

Yuugi smiled and unbuckled, pushing up in the seat to wrap his arms around his neck. He hugged him back, still feeling numb with spikes of something. Yuugi’s knee slipped and he fell into the steering wheel blaring the horn and he jumped. Kaiba sighed smiling up at him, but he didn’t move so he pushed him so he could reach the lever under the seat. He barely pushed it and the seat flew back, making Yuugi laugh. 

“What am I going to do with you?”

“If I’m lucky, stay with me forever.”

“You don’t need luck for that.”

Yuugi brushed his fingers through his hair searching his face and frowned. “I’m sorry. I’m the worst husband ever.”

“Not yet.”

“How could this be worse? I just told some other guy I loved him.”

“You were trying to leave me in a haunted house all by myself. I think that's worse.”

Yuugi heartily laughed and nuzzled into his neck, wrapping his arms around him tighter. 

“And, to reiterate, he’s dead. It’s not a lot different than telling a rock you love it.”

Yuugi muttered under his breath and wiggled in his arms trying to get away, but he just held him there. 

He kissed his hair and sighed, closing his eyes. “How about we go home and sleep on it and in the morning decide if we’re moving, once and for all. If we decide to move, that’s what we do, if not, we stay and never bring it up again, okay?”

Yuugi nodded, his hair brushing Kaiba’s nose. “Okay .”

He leaned down to kiss the top of his head again, breathing him in, and murmured into his hair, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Seto... so much”

\---

Yuugi fell asleep on the way back home, holding his hand so tight he wasn’t sure he was really asleep until he parked the car out front. Not that he was complaining, it gave him time to think. And think he did…sitting in the car, giving up and getting out in the rain, scooping Yuugi up out of the passenger seat and carrying him to the front door, glaring at it when it opened on it’s own, more glaring at Atem (sitting precariously on the back of the sofa watching them with his infuriatingly concerned gaze), followed by more thinking as he carried Yuugi upstairs, got him ready for bed and tucked him in with his stupid magician blanket. He glared at him too for a breath before walking out of the room, silently closing the door behind him. 

When he got to the kitchen, Atem wasn’t in the living room anymore.  _ Coward. _ The magnets scraped across the fridge and he turned his fury to it. ‘you aRE uPSET.’

“No fucking shit. What clued you in?”

The ‘y’ from ‘you’ scrapped down the fridge to stand alone and he rolled his eyes. “You.”

A murmur, or a whisper, maybe it was a growl; he couldn’t really tell, but someone or something spoke. “What did I do?”

Kaiba jumped and spun around, seeing Atem standing right behind him. He didn’t know Atem could talk. Since when?! That just pissed him off more. “I want to know what the fuck you’re doing. You know we’re married, had the nerve to harass me about it, and now you’ve successfully gotten into his head. Was that your plan the whole time?” 

Atem had the gaul to look completely confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Yuugi’s not yours!”

He just stared at him. Kaiba had no idea what he was thinking when he grinned, walking past him towards the hallway. At least, that’s where he thought he was going… until the basement door opened. Atem walked around the corner disappearing down the basement stairs. “I want to show you something.”

He didn’t know what Atem was doing, just like he never really did, but he still felt like he wouldn’t hurt him.  _ He did though. _

He glanced down the hallway to the staircase to their bedroom and sighed. He should go to bed. He should be talking to Yuugi. He should be doing a million different things instead of considering going down stairs with a backstabbing dead guy.  _ Fuck it. _

Kaiba stomped over to the basement door and walked down the stairs, closing the door behind him. The lights were on, an actual surprise, not that they lit up much, the shadows from the boxes painted most of the walls. At the bottom of the stairs, he frowned, noticing the basement was set up differently than the last time he was down there. The furniture wasn’t covered in sheets anymore or stacked up against the walls. Atem had moved them out, uncovered them, and set them up like a small living room in the corner by the dirt floor room of the basement. His final step off the stairs, he turned to face Atem sitting down in a queen anne chair, crossing his legs and gesturing to a chess board table in front of him. Another chair mirroring it across the board, shifted so he could sit in it. 

Kaiba scoffed, “Do you even know how to play that?”

Atem smiled. It seemed genuine. “Not a clue, but I know you do. You have four of these in your office alone.”

“I have 6 in my office. The other two are still in their cases.”

“Why do you have so many?”

“….” He walked over to the chair and sat down, staring at the old chess board with carved pieces. “This… is old.”

“As old as everything else. I'm surprised you didn’t keep it upstairs.”

“I didn’t know it still had all the pieces.”

Atem nodded and gestured to it again. “How do you play?”

“Each piece has set movements-” He stopped and glared at him. “What's the point of this?”

“To play a game, obviously.”

“You haven’t explained anything.”

He smiled down at the board and picked up the queen on his side. “These pieces are worn, someone played this a lot. It’s the only thing in this house not unused. I wonder why.”

“How the fuck would I know?”

He set the queen back down and sighed, “I don’t understand why you’re upset.”

“I’m not ‘upset’. I’m pissed off. I trusted you.”

Atem wrinkled his nose glaring at him like he offended him. “What did I do?”

What did he do indeed. He had a long list of ‘what he did’ but when he tried to put it into words to yell at him about it, it just sounded stupid. ‘How dare you continue doing what you’ve been doing this whole time in plain sight, loudly, with both Yuugi and his complete understanding and consent to it.’ He felt deflated realizing, none of that was why. Unlike talking to Yuugi, he was mad at Atem. He was mad he still had a shrine to Yuugi in his hair, mad he kissed him first, mad that Yuugi knew he liked them first, and mad that he told Yuugi he loved him. He couldn't say any of that. It didn't sound any less ridiculous than the first thought did, but it was true. That was why he was mad. Picking up a black pawn, he sighed through his nose and moved it two spaces forward, “Pawns can only move forward, two spaces max.”

Atem looked down at the board. “What of the others?”

He explained how each piece could be moved, making Atem play so he’d better remember it. They ran through a practice round, then a practice game and started a new game now that Atem got the hang of it. He kept watching him move the pieces with, not a smile but not a frown, like he was having fun and concentrating on each move, remembering it and learning it with the same curiosity he had playing the video game with him and Yuugi, or anything he touched in the house that he didn’t quite understand, but this was different. He kept looking at the board as if it would remind him of a time when it was new, sitting across from him and he could play it effortlessly, wearing down the pieces. 

“You don’t need to be jealous.”

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and didn’t respond. 

“I haven’t taken anything from him that I haven’t taken from you.” 

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Atem made his move and let the knight go, locking his eyes with him. "Why are you still?”

“I’m…” He sighed and took his turn, slamming the piece down on the board. 

"Kaiba?"

He looked back up, debating on telling him the truth when he noticed something in his hair that wasn't there before. "That's not yours."

Atem smirked, soft and... sweet. "It is now and has been since you brought your chess board out."

"Is that why you're making me play this with you?"

"I wanted to play a game you like. You only play the game upstairs with Yuugi's friends so it is not a good option. I thought we could play this together." He wrinkled his nose at the board and hummed. "Though it'll take some getting used to."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he humphed, glaring down at the chess board. He absolutely refused to react to his face feeling too warm despite the chill in the basement. Atem might be a ghost or demon or whatever the hell he was, but he wasn't a mind reader. There was no way he would've know why Kaiba was upset. Except he somehow did know. Kaiba tapped his foot in the air wondering just how much Atem knew that he wasn't letting on. Or if he just knew them that well. 

Kaiba glanced back up when he was too focused on the board to notice. He'd taken three pieces from his chess set, the white King and Queen, and the black rook. He wondered why those choices and his head spun with possible reasons, most of which Atem wouldn't know not having played the game before. He probably just chose pieces he liked, no more no less, but part of him wondered if he chose them because of what the looked like, the castle and the king and queen; the house and them. 

“I wanted to ask you, since you’re in such a great mood-” Atem met his gaze and tapped his foot, grinning ear to ear- “what is the story with the names on the white board in the kitchen? Yuugi was very upset when I tried to write on it.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes, looking away immediately to the board, and watched Atem _finally_ make his move. “He wanted to call me something. I told him I hate pet names and we argued about it for weeks before I made the mistake, hoping to shut him up, to suggest he think of something and if I liked it he could use it.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Two and a half years ago. He’s not getting the idea.”

Atem chuckled and watched him take his turn. “On the contrary, I believe he’s doing it to rile you up.” He titled his head and looked up at him. “I’m surprised it isn’t the other way around.”

“I already have a name for him.”

Atem quirked a brow and took his turn. “Really? All you call him is his name.”

“It’s for emergencies.”

“Emergencies? I don’t think you understand what a pet name is.”

He humphed, smiling to himself just thinking of why he only used it on occasion, but his smile soon faded. An occasion like now. “Maybe.”

They played a little longer in silence. Kaiba took Atem’s knight with his bishop and set it on the edge of the board, a blow to Atem’s strategy but nothing he couldn’t recover from. At least that’s what he thought until he looked up. Atem was absolutely devastated. “It’s not that bad. You just started playing.”

“It’s not that.” Atem picked up a piece, playing it in a horrible spot, and Kaiba fought every fiber of his being not to correct it. “It’s really nothing. Play.”

Kaiba looked at the game then up at him and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back. “I’m not playing if you’re going to make stupid moves like that because you aren’t paying attention. Either say what you want or play properly.”

Atem smiled weakly. “While I was waiting for you both to come back, I was sitting in Yuugi’s gaming room. It’s covered in pictures.” He leaned back in the chair and stared at the board. 

Kaiba waited for him to say anything more, but he never did, so he took his turn. When he glanced up, Atem was gone. Exhaling loudly, he turned in the chair facing the stairs. Exhausted in more ways than one, he debated on going to bed. He should make sure Yuugi was alright. He was so upset when he fell asleep, but he just couldn’t find the energy to move. The longer he stared at the steps, the more his exhaustion set in and he closed his eyes.

\---

Uneven stones inlaid into the dirt lead him through trees he’d grown used to around the Bed and Breakfast. He was warm and comfortable in the spring breeze filled with the smell of trees, earth and flowers. Despite not knowing where he was going as well as being pretty sure this must be a strange bout of weather for November, he followed the stones, wondering who put them there. Certainly no one with any sort of gardening or construction knowledge. It was almost like kids put these there. That thought made him grin following the uneven and poorly placed stones through the trees. Regardless of how awkward they were placed, it looked like someone took a lot of care to make sure they weren’t overgrown by weeds or underbrush and they stuck out even more. Glancing back over his shoulder, he could still see the top of the bed and breakfast, getting further and further away but still in view. Turning back, he discovered where the stones lead. 

A quaint log cabin. Nothing extravagant or even nice about it in itself, but around it were roses and irises, a vegetable garden off to the side, and a wooden bench set up against the side of the house with three names carved into the back, but he couldn’t quite make out what it said from where he was. The door had a woven wreath of sticks and red ribbon hanging from it; hand made it seemed. Tacky floral curtains covered one of the opened windows, flowing into the house from the spring breeze. His only thought, staring at the tacky curtains; it looked like something Yuugi would love.

He walked up to the door and knocked, stepping back to wait for it to open. He heard a little girl laughing inside and her mother shouting about something, but the door never opened. He knocked on it again, then huffed, turning to look at the bench now that he was close enough to see the names. He thought he saw his name at first, and blinked, squinting at the bench. Then he saw more names, then his again. He knelt down, dusting off the back of the bench glaring at the names on it because now he could clearly see...his name, Yuugi’s name and-

“If you make one more comment about the ‘i’ being a hair too far to the left I’ll throw this at you.” 

He looked up at Atem standing in the doorway with a basket in his arms covered in a checkered cloth, the smell of warm cinnamon flowed through the breeze. When he didn’t make the comment Atem was waiting for, he walked inside the house, leaving the door open for him. Kaiba stood, glancing down at the bench reading all three of their names very clearly on it now. It must’ve been dirty.

Walking inside the house he bit the inside of his cheek grinning. Yuugi touched everything. Who gave him this much decorating say? This isn't even his house! The walls were pastel purple in the kitchen, knick-knacks of his favorite games littered the counter, his magician blanket laid over the edge of a wooden rocking chair by a fireplace in the living room. He saw little things of his own through the living room and kitchen as well, his chess boards, his kitchen table they’d packed up in the basement because they didn’t need it anymore, and his dragon potholders that were currently on Yuugi’s hands as he reached into the oven to grab something. Whatever it was, it smelled amazing. 

Yuugi greeted him and told him dinner was almost done, but Kaiba found himself doing what he always did, looking through the house for what was Atem’s. Yuugi’s tastes touched and covered everything, the focal points were his. So where were Atem’s things? He took a step further into the house, closing the door behind him and looked a little closer. Just like before he couldn’t find anything. Sighing, he walked back to the short hallway leading to the bedrooms or bedroom he had no idea how big this house really was. Atem told him to hurry up or they were eating without him.

The hallway split into two rooms, the master bedroom looked identical to Yuugi’s and his in the bed and breakfast, the other room… looked like a children’s room. He frowned, walking into it and feeling like everything was off and somehow real. Bunk beds against the wall, a small white bed against the other wall, toys, old toys, toys they don’t make anymore, littering the floor. He walked up to the white bed furthest from him and squinted at the name etched into the headboard. Still couldn't read the full name but he recognized the ‘M’. His chest tightened and he stepped away from the bed. He felt in his gut it wasn’t for Mokuba, but it still hurt to see. Glancing around the room again, he backed out into the hall and took a deep breath. Hyper aware of the clink of porcelain from the dishes in the kitchen, he ran his hand through his hair and leaned on the wall, glancing (more or less on accident) into the master bedroom. 

He was wrong before. It wasn’t like their room exactly. The pillow Yuugi kept giving Atem to lay on in their room was sitting in the middle of the bed, the tacky curtains covering the small window off on the far wall cast a beautiful ray of sunlight over the new duvet Yuugi and he picked out just for the new house, his magician doll sat staged on the bed. But the rest of the room, everything, aside from the bed and the tacky curtains, was something he'd never seen before. 

He walked into the room, frowning at the dressers of cherry wood, so beautifully carved he had the suspicion they were a little more than dressers. On top were glass bottles and papers, letters that were smudged and difficult to make out names, but he gathered they were letters to a doctor thanking him for taking care of their families. A quick glance around the rest of the room, on the nightstand and on the chest of drawers on the far wall were medical books and journals from… at least 100 years ago, but looked brand new. Atem was a doctor?

“If you don’t hurry up, Seto, I’m using the name on the board!” Yuugi shouted from the living room and laughed.

He looked towards the door smiling and shook his head. He left the strange bedrooms to walk back into the living room where Yuugi and Atem sat with a puzzle on the floor looking up at him like he was gone for hours. “What happened to dinner?”

“We ate already,” Yuugi laughed and then lifted up the basket Atem had when he first saw him, “but we have cinnamon muffins for dessert!”

He walked over to the rug they both sat on and sat down as well. He didn't even get comfortable, leaning against the wall, when Yuugi climbed into his lap. “What are you doing?”

“It’s my turn.”

“I’m not a chair.”

“You let Atem sit on you yesterday. Today it’s my turn.”

Atem scooted over closer to him and leaned against his side, making it impossible for him to even reach the puzzle let alone move. They did not care at all. They put the puzzle together, talking to each other about what it would look like when they were finished as if he were an actual chair instead of a person they were crushing.

He didn’t mind. 

He was too busy melting from how warm both of them were, as if he were wrapped up in a really heavy blanket. Atem was alive, no ink in his eyes or at the edges of his lips. He was just as real and colorful as Yuugi, just as happy. His skin wasn’t ashen or blue but lighter brown like the muffins in the basket. He looked so alive. He was alive. Watching them put the puzzle together as they leaned on him, banished all of the fears he had before this.

That led him down a trail of thought, looking around the log cabin once more then down at the two of them. Yuugi said he was jealous that Atem helped him, and it certainly seemed that was what Atem was doing now. Though, looking at this tackily decorated log cabin Yuugi really shouldn’t be. This was a nice dream. The kind of really nice dream you daydream about if everything was ‘perfect’, but it wasn’t  _ his  _ kind of perfect. This was someone else’s idea of perfect; Atem’s idea of perfect. He wondered why he was seeing it and feeling it when it wasn’t his dream but Atem’s. Probably like the stupid dream about the fog he had in the basement last time Atem brought him down there. 

That was… strange.

This wasn’t so bad. 

He reached for the basket of muffins and grabbed one, bringing it up to his lips to eat it when it crumbled; ash fell from his hand onto the rug. 

  
\---

“Where are we going?”

“Walking the grounds,” Kaiba said, turning back to make sure the view of the inn was exactly like it was in his dream.

“Why?”

“I haven’t. Have you?”

Yuugi shook his head, but kept staring at him like he didn’t understand. Then he sighed, looking forward as they walked towards the treeline. It was cold and dreary, not bright and sunny and warm like the dream. November. This was what November actually felt like. Yuugi was quiet as they walked so Kaiba kept checking to make sure he was headed in the right direction. He had little faith that after 200 years the uneven stone path would still be there or visible. This was the only way he’d know for sure if the house ever existed. Once they passed the treeline into the forest surrounding the Inn, he made a final glance behind him at it, just like it was in his dream when he discovered the stones. He debated on trying to find the stones, but Yuugi’s silent frown kept him standing. “Did you decide if you still want to move?”

“...I don’t know.”

He nodded, walking again. 

“Did you sleep alright downstairs?”

He glanced at Yuugi, who was refusing to look up. “Yes and no.”

"..."

“Did you?”

“No,” Yuugi sighed and slid his hands into his jacket pockets. “Did you talk to Atem? I didn’t see him this morning.”

“He’s practicing playing chess.”

“Oh.”

They kept walking, he kept making sure they were going the right way, and Yuugi kept giving everything a look like he was confused beyond belief. He never asked him where they were going though. It wasn’t until the remains of the house he dreamed about came into view that Yuugi spoke again. “That’s- Is that a house?”

“ _ Was _ a house.”

“How did you know that was there?”

They walked up to it and he felt a pang of regret looking over it. Time destroyed this place more than whatever else happened to it before. No garden, no stones, no bench with the names carved into it, no tacky curtains and stick wreath, no roses and irises, no nothing, but the skeleton of what was once a plain, but homey log cabin. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the weeds and the dead trees, the scorched skeleton of the house and the lack of life, lack of love and care that he’d seen the night before.

Yuugi walked up to it, brushing his fingers over a pillar. “It burned down. Look”

He walked up to him, looking at the stone and pillar; still black. That might explain the ash in his dream. Vines and underbrush overgrew everything, but he could still see where the walls used to be. It led him back to the children's bedroom. Kneeling down, he sifted through the weeds and the dirt to see if anything was left. 

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for something.”

“For what?”

“I think this was Atem’s house. So anything.”

“You what?” Yuugi raced over to him, almost knocking him over kneeling beside him. “How? I don’t understand. You’ve never been out here and he said he doesn’t remember anything.”

“He doesn’t.” His fingers brushed against something and he dug into the dirt to pull it up. “I think this was more of an accident.”

He pulled up a metal soldier paint worn completely off. Yuugi took it from his hands and gasped. “Wow… that's old.” He looked it over then sat down in the grass and dirt, sighing. “Why are we out here if it was an accident? Did he say something that made you think-”

“No. I had a dream about it-” Kaiba looked around the ruins of the house then back down at the ground, seeing if anything would catch his eye- “and I wanted to double check it.”

“You came out here because you had a dream.” Yuugi’s grin widened until he was giggling. “You. The guy who doesn’t believe in ghosts or messages from the universe in your dreams, came out here because you had a dream.”

Kaiba scowled, lifting his chin. “I already explained to you I think it was an accident, that's why I’m checking it.”

“You think you had a dream about Atem’s past?”

“No. Atem was trying to make me feel better. He showed me this house.”

“That makes even less sense than before.” Yuugi laughed and brushed his bangs back out of his face looking around the weeds and trees. “Is that how he made you feel better before? Showed you something from his past?”

“I hope not.” 

“What happened before?”

He leaned back running his fingers over the weeds and the dirt to see if he could find anything more. His fingers brushed against something sharp and he jerked his hand back. “I had a dream I was walking through fog and…” he sighed, dropping his hand onto his knee, “Mokuba was on the other side of it.”

He wished he could explain it better than that, but he had no idea how to begin. Yuugi didn’t ask for any further explanation. Instead he reached out and squeezed his hand. “I’m really sorry,” he murmured, “about everything. We can move right now if you want. That’s what we’re supposed to be deciding right? This is a lot. It wasn’t supposed to be a lot.”

He humphed, pushing up to his feet and walking over to where he remembered the kitchen being. Shuffling his foot through the weeds, he saw a few cups and pieces of what might have been plates. “Everything’s a lot. Living is a lot. I don’t think moving will change that.”

He glanced back at Yuugi, who stood slowly and crossed his arms over his chest. “No it won’t.”

He kept walking through the remains of the house, hoping to find something of use or some indicator it was the right one when he came upon a metal plate half buried in the dirt. Pulling it up with Yuugi’s help, they found something he was impressed it lasted through the fire and the elements. “What is this?”

“An old stethoscope.”

Yuugi took it from him, looking it over, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye in disbelief then he blinked. “Actually… Yeah it is, isn’t it?” He hummed and looked down the center of it then narrowed his eyes at him. “How did you just know that off the top of your head?”

“I think Atem was the doctor from those articles we read.”

He tilted his head, lowering the beaten and worn wooden cylinder. “Did you dream about that too?”

He nodded, watching Yuugi sit back and play around with the old stethoscope. He looked tired, bags under his eyes and dreary like the dead trees and weeds around them. He kept acting like he was waiting for something, waiting for the end of the world with nothing left to lose but unsure when it would happen. Yuugi caught him staring at him and looked up, still dreary and tired. “What?”

He stood up and held his hand out to Yuugi to help him up as well. “I didn’t go straight downstairs to sleep. I was talking to Atem. Well, I yelled at him.”

“I knew you were going to do that.” Yuugi half smiled and took his hand, letting him help him up. 

Kaiba wrapped his arm around him and laid his head in his hair, breathing him in. “I wanted him to explain what the hell he was doing because it didn’t make any sense. He didn't answer me, just showed me the chessboard we brought up from downstairs.”

“So that's where that came from.”

He acknowledged him with a short hum, looking through the trees in the direction of the B&B. “I didn’t just dream about the house or about who Atem was. I dreamed about what it would be like if Atem was alive and we lived here-” he kissed Yuugi’s hair and mockingly groaned- “with your poor choice in interior decorating.”

He laughed and hugged him tighter. “Was it a good dream?”

“Aside from the curtains that only you would pick out… yes.”

“I wish I could’ve seen it. It sounds like the perfect dream.” Yuugi stepped back and sighed, the relief in it made him smile back. “Especially the curtains.”

“If I have my way, you will NEVER see those curtains.”

He weakly chuckled, smiling up at him. “So… does that mean you want to stay?”

He nodded.

Yuugi just looked up at him, searching his face for any hesitation he supposed. Kaiba was looking for something else. “This is probably a terrible idea,” Yuugi whispered.

“Definitely a terrible idea.”

“I want to stay too. Okay.” He laughed and looked around the ruins of what was once a heartwarming house, nodding. “Okay. We’re staying. No more talking about it.”

Yuugi smiled when he entwined their fingers together and led him out of the ‘house’ and back towards the B&B. “No more talking about it.”

They talked about his dream on the way back. He told Yuugi about the things in the house, the bench and the medical journals. About the bed with the letter ‘M’ etched into it. The longer they talked about it the more Yuugi relaxed and seemed like himself. The more colorful he was against the dead trees and sleepy forest. It made him more certain this was the right decision. It had nothing to do with the house and it had nothing to do with Atem being whatever the fuck he was. It had everything to do with them growing and changing and wanting him there. 

Yuugi looked up at the canopy of trees and wrinkled his nose. “That’s going to bug me. M… Masha? No… What was the girl’s name?”

“What girl?”

“The girl in the obituary from the family. They had a daughter and her name started with an M. It’s going to bug me. I know what it is and it isn’t Marla, which is the only ‘M’ name I can think of right now.” He giggled looking up at him. “I think you just figured out where Atem came from. He’s from that family.”

“Which one in that family?”

“Which ever one was a doctor?”

“Families tended to pass down their professions. That’s not a good indicator.” 

The treeline came into view and Yuugi let out a relaxed breath. “I don’t know if we should tell him about it or not.”

“We aren’t certain. Even if we were, we don’t know what happened exactly.”

“No, but even if we did… I think it would just make him sad.”

Kaiba nodded. “I’m not sure I’d want to know.” 

“Exactly.” 

Despite being silent, he could tell Yuugi had something he wanted to say, judging by how he narrowed his eyes at the bed and breakfast, his lips curled down into a concerned frown. He licked his lips still staring ahead. “Do you ever feel like something was too good to be true?”

“Several times. Why?”

“I feel like this is one of those things.”

“This?”

“Staying here. It’s definitely what I want, but I feel like… I don't know.”

When they crossed the tree line, he turned to Yuugi and smirked. “You know, if it all goes to hell there’s a silver lining.”

“What’s that?”

“We can haunt Wheeler.”

Yuugi laughed, squeezing his hand. “That would never get old.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fought me to the bitter end. What are words? Writing is hard XD Thank you so much for reading!


	9. Chapter Eight

Kaiba sat at his desk, sifting through check-in papers and bills. Yuugi’s friends would be there within the next few days and he was busy talking to them about everything having to do with it. He could still hear him with his office door closed. At least he was better. He glanced up at the door then back down to the papers, realizing one was in the wrong place. He reached across his desk to grab it, when he felt a cold hand on his thigh. He jolted, dropping the papers and shoved the chair back, and just like the last time that happened, Atem sat under the desk. He laughed like the sound of a cougar purring and fell back against it. 

That just made him glare more. “Glad you think it’s so funny. You could announce yourself so that doesn’t happen.”

Atem’s laughter faded and he smirked at him as if to say he did what he intended to do in the first place. 

“Go pester Yuugi. I have to get this done.”

Atem shrank back into the shadows of his desk, but he didn’t leave. Kaiba couldn’t see his face, but he could still see his feet. He humphed, deciding if he kneed him in the face it would serve him right and rolled the chair back over. It seemed like he actually left. He wasn’t cold and nothing hit his knee, so he sat like he normally did, picking up the papers again. Then he felt Atem lean on his leg. He groaned and tossed the papers down. “You're not going to let me work, are you?”

The computer booted on and his email program came on again, a fresh email popped up and the keyboard clattered. 

‘I’m not doing anything.’

“You’re giving me frostbite.”

_ ‘ _ You’ll be fine.’ Kaiba had a good two cents to add to that, but Atem was still typing. ‘I didn’t hear any complaints in the basement.’

He glared at the monitor, half of him overly hot and the other half ice cold. 

‘Thank you for coming back, for bringing Yuugi back.’

“I’m regretting it already,” he muttered under his breath.

The keyboard clattered, but the metal clink under his chair was more noticeable. He gasped as it fell down to the lowest setting and frantically gripped the arms of the chair. Glared at Atem’s laughter, he could clearly see him leaning against his leg as well as feel it. He started to say something when Atem pointed up to his computer monitor.

He looked up and saw Atem was messing around with the fonts on it. 

‘It’s too late. You’re stuck here for all eternity. (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Your soul is mine. ♥ .’

“At least you know how to work the computer.”

Atem laughed again, shifting under the desk to lay on his lap with his arms crossed under his chin. He laid his head to the side, closing his eyes. Kaiba watched him, listening to Yuugi laughing from the other room. Yuugi was so excited about his friends coming over, and admittedly, he was anxious to talk to Ryou about all of this. If anyone would know more about what Atem was, he would. He lived for things like that. And if he didn't know, he’d know how to figure it out. 

He brushed Atem’s bangs with his fingertips and readjusted the magician doll in his hair, but he didn’t stir. So he went back to work, sorting out the papers on his desk. It was difficult to reach them, but he didn’t want to move him. He had three neat piles when his office door opened. Yuugi smiled from the doorway, looking around then up at him. “Have you seen Atem?”

“ _ Now _ you’re looking for him,” he muttered, lifting his arm so Yuugi could see him. 

Yuugi smiled softly and walked up to him. He assumed he’d tap his shoulder or make him move. Instead he knelt down and laid his head right next to Atem’s in his lap. He rolled his eyes when Atem laughed. Yuugi laughed too. Neither of them moved.

“I was thinking of making dinner. Do you want to help me?”

Atem nodded and kissed Yuugi’s nose, making him jump up and rub his nose; shivering and laughing. 

“Come on. I think you’ve frozen both of us enough.”

Atem shrank back into the shadows and Yuugi stood up. Kaiba watched Yuugi rub his nose again then look down at him. He smiled at him, like he always did, and leaned down kissing the breath out of him. “I’ll let you know when dinner’s ready.”

He nodded and watched him walk away, then shut the door behind him. The room felt empty without both of them there. He thought about leaving too, but decided to finish up what he was doing first. 

\---

“Wait!” Yuugi laughed and fell back onto the basement stairs dropping his side of the queen-anne chair.

Kaiba smirked, shaking his head. “I can take care of it myself.”

“No!” He giggled, standing up and picking the chair back up. “I'm helping.”

“You’re going to break something.”

“Yeah, my foot.” He backed up on the stairs, looking over his shoulder as he went. “Then I’ll be stuck in bed and you’ll have to get me everything.”

He snickered, waiting for Yuugi to get a better grip on the chair to lift it up the last few stairs to the kitchen. “Ah, so that’s your plan.”

“That’s the plan!”

He heard the magnets scraping across the fridge, but couldn’t see much of anything besides Yuugi’s hair as they set the chair down in the kitchen. Yuugi exhaled; loud and dramatic, like the chair actually weighed a ton instead of 50lbs max, dusting his hands off and reading the fridge. He snickered and beamed, turning back to the chair and sliding it across the tile so Kaiba could get past it. “It’s a surprise.”

Walking around the chair, he looked down the hall then back at Yuugi. “Still have a little more to go.”

Yuugi groaned and leaned heavily on the back of the chair. “Make Atem do it.”

“He probably could, but I’m not okay with a chair flying across the room. Are you?”

“I am if it means I don’t have to carry it, yes.”

“I can carry it myself.”

“No. That’s how you break a foot.”

He rolled his eyes. “Ready?”

Yuugi sat up and sighed, puffing out his cheeks. “Yep.”

They picked up the chair and carried down the hall to his office. He kicked the door open with his foot and grinned when it accidentally hit Yuugi in the shoulder and he pouted. “Ow.”

“That didn't hurt you.”

They carried the chair over to the chess table and set it down across from the other chair they’d brought up. That was everything. Everything Atem had moved; set up like a living room in the dark corner of the basement. Now all of it was upstairs: the chess table and chairs put in his office, the oriental rug (in incredible condition for how old it was) laid in the living room between the fireplace and the sofa, the tea set and platter Yuugi had set up in the middle of the island in the kitchen. They decided to stay, this was their home, but they also realized they’d completely taken it over and erased any little bit of Atem out of it. So they were fixing that. It was his house too. They didn’t want him to feel like all he had was the basement. The furniture being upstairs definitely helped, but he needed something else. Hopefully Atem liked their idea.

“I'm bruised,” Yuugi chortled, looking at his shoulder. “See? I’m broken. You’ll just have to cater to me for the rest of my life.”

He laughed, walking around the chair to him and kissed his shoulder, then ushered him out of the room. “There. You’re cured. We have too much to do.”

“That’s cheating.”

He closed the door behind them and pushed Yuugi down the hall, waiting in the living room while Yuugi went out to the car. Glancing at Atem, he bit back a laugh. He sat precariously perched on the back of the sofa staring at the front door with so much curiosity and excitement Kaiba thought he might fall off it. When Yuugi came back in he lifted up a paint can and a large paper bag full of paint brushes, sheets and everything else they needed. “Surprise!”

Atem looked at it, then him, and tilted his head; the bell on the magician doll rang. 

Kaiba started to explain, but Yuugi was apparently too impatient for that. He waved for Atem to follow him and walked through the kitchen to the hallway. “Hurry up!”

Shaking his head, Kaiba glanced back at the sofa. Atem was already gone. Yuugi wasn’t the only one too impatient and it helped support that this was a good idea. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little anxious to see Atem’s reaction, hoping it would be a good one. The possibility that it wasn’t still made his fingers twitch at his sides. He envied Yuugi’s certainty.

Following him down the hall and up the stairs to their bedroom, he waited for Yuugi to push the door open. He nudged it with his elbow then stopped doorway, giggling. Gently pushing Yuugi further into the room, he got a good look at what was so funny. Atem sat on the end of the bed, just as impatient, curious and excited as he was before. 

Yuugi walked over to the bed, setting the paint can on the ground and the bag on the foot of the bed in front of Atem. “It’s glow-in-the-dark paint.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a small paintbrush and held it out to him. “We thought, since you can’t really see the stars through the windows with the trees and everything, we’d paint it on the ceiling.”

Atem’s grin slowly fell. 

Kaiba walked towards them, wondering if maybe he wasn’t understanding. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, opening up the app they'd found that would project the stars up on the ceiling so they could paint it. Holding it out to him, he explained, curious why Atem looked at it with his brows knit together, “It should be fairly straightforward. We can paint it exactly like this or you can paint it as you like.”

He just stared at the image of the night sky on his phone then looked up at them. 

Yuugi flashed him a concerned smile. “We thought you’d like it.”

He nodded.

Kaiba looked him over, still staring at the phone then the paintbrush. He couldn’t tell what was wrong and Yuugi not knowing either didn’t help. He sighed through his nose and set the phone on the bed, but Atem kept staring at the paintbrush. It almost looked like he wasn’t sure it was actually there. Yuugi leaned forward a little, making him look up. “Are you sure? We can get a different color or do something else if you want?”

He immediately shook his head and continued to frown at the paintbrush. 

Yuugi put it gently in Atem’s hands, but he still hadn’t looked up. 

“It’s your room too, Atem. You should have it painted how you want,” Kaiba said, lazily gesturing to the bed. “We thought you’d like to see the stars while you’re laying in here with us.”

When Atem looked up at him, his eyes changed, lightened to a deep maroon color he hadn’t seen before. 

“We want you to feel at home,” Yuugi said, standing up straight and entwining his fingers into Kaiba’s, “and not wake us up at 2 in the morning to play a game.”

Atem laughed (purred), sitting up on his knees and wrapping his arms around both of their necks. Yuugi laughed too, a stark contrast to Atem’s pur. “For a second there I thought you hated it.” 

Atem shook his head, ringing the bell on the magician doll and tickling Kaiba’s nose with his hair.

Carrying Atem was strange (feeling like he was carrying a dead body), but this, holding both him and Yuugi, was otherworldly. That feeling of touching death was still there, but the vibrations in Atem’s chest and back from his laughter and how tight but gentle he held on to them took the edge of fear and anxiety off. His arms around them reminded him of how he held Topper; firm, yet still tender, like a child holding onto something they cared about with too much force, but they were trying. Yuugi being there as well cut the feeling of death and cold at least in half. He didn’t feel his own mortality… 

In that moment he felt Atem’s.

“I don’t know what to say…” he whispered, “thank you.”

“You don’t have to say anything. We should’ve done this earlier.”

Yuugi gasped, “You can hear him?!”

“I can,” he snickered, feeling Yuugi shifted in his arms, pulling back. He moved too, watching Atem sit back on his heels clutching the paint brush to his chest, all of his excitement back. 

“That’s not fair.” Yuugi huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "What does he sound like?”

“I have no idea how to answer that question.”

Yuugi started to say something then huffed again, reaching into the bag. “Why can you hear him and I can’t?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. I could see him before too.”

“That’s just crap.” Yuugi pulled the painter’s sheet out of the bag. “Although… it’s kind of funny that you can when you didn't believe in all that.”

Atem dramatically nodded, making Yuugi laugh.

He rolled his eyes, helping Yuugi unfold the sheet. 

They covered the room with it so they could paint without ruining everything. Atem helped too, moving the sheet into corners they couldn’t get to very well. Satisfied with the room covered, he left them with instructions to open and stir the paint and went to the bed and breakfast to get a ladder. The boys laid on the floor not far from the front desk focused on something that he couldn’t see. Marla pushed off the back wall and leaned on the counter sliding her palms together. “Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be off work tonight?”

“I need a ladder,” he said, walking up to the counter and glancing at whatever the boys were so interested in.

Topper. So that’s where he was hiding. He stood on his back legs, his nose twitching in the air trying to snatch an apple slice from Trevor’s hand. The boys giggled and laughed, while Trevor lifted the apple up and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. “You ate yours already. This is mine.”

“He’s still hungry,” Sebastian said, scooting closer and offering another apple slice to him.

Just as Topper turned, Marla darted around the counter. “Don’t you give him anymore. He’ll get sick.”

“But he’s hungry.”

“He always thinks he’s hungry.”

“Mr. Kaiba!” Mikey sat up, grinning ear to ear. “Do you want to see his hat?” 

He quirked a brow, about to ask, when Marla stuttered and waved her hands. “Mr. Kaiba’s busy honey.”

“It’ll be real fast!” Sebastian said and picked up Topper.

He watched as Mikey set a tiny felt black top hat on Topper’s head, looping an elastic string under his chin that was almost too big to hold the hat on his head. He didn’t know what amazed him more, that the hat actually stayed or that Topper stood back up again, as if to show off his new hat. Now he’d seen everything.

“I’ll get the ladder.” Marla flashed him a grin and disappeared into her apartment, leaving him with the boys all beaming proudly with Topper still showing off the new hat. 

“Did you show Yuugi and Atem already?”

Trevor shook his head. “We just made it.”

“Yeah. Had to make sure it would fit!”

“He loves it!” Sebastian giggled, scratching Topper under the chin.

Marla came back with the ladder under her arm. “Here you go!”

He took it from her and turned to walk away. “If you have any of that left, you should make him a bow tie.”

Mikey gasped and bolted up, rushing past Marla into the apartment. He snickered carrying the ladder out of the lobby. Walking down the sidewalk to his front door, he wondered if he should tell Yuugi and Atem or let it be a surprise. Kicking open the front door, he heard Yuugi and Atem laughing upstairs and used his foot to shut it. A surprise it’ll have to be. They still had a lot of work to do. 

When he opened the door to their bedroom, he groaned. They’d opened the paint alright. Yuugi sat cross legged on the painter's sheet covered floor across from Atem. He held onto his chin, grinning ear to ear as he painted a heart on his cheek. “That’s not for that,” Kaiba muttered, setting the ladder up.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s no fun.”

Atem purred.

Kaiba pushed on the ladder to make sure he had it set up right, then reached into his pocket for his phone, but it wasn’t there.“Yuugi?”

“Huh?”

“Do you have my phone?”

Yuugi looked all around him, then patted his pockets. “Nope.”

Atem searched too, but he didn’t see it either. 

“We might’ve covered it up.”

Atem snapped his fingers and lifted the sheet on the bed. “Here.”

Kaiba blinked, watching the sheets over the bed wrinkle and ripple like a snake slithered beneath it. Then Atem sat back up, lowering the sheet with the phone in his hands. He smiled and held it out. Staring at the phone in Atem’s ink stained hand, he sighed. He really should be used to all of this by now. Hesitantly, he took it, shaking his head and opening the app to display the stars.

After setting the phone down on the foot of the bed, he looked up at the ceiling to double check it was right. Narrowing his eyes, he moved the phone to shift the projection to where it needed to be. He expected them to get up and start painting or at least say something, so when they didn't, he let go of the phone and scowled down at them, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well?”

Yuugi blushed, immediately looking away, and dipped a brush into the paint. Atem looked just as guilty, smiling up at him with wine colored eyes and taking the paint brush from Yuugi when he eventually held it out to him. Pushing himself up to his feet, he winked and turned, stepping up onto the bed. Kaiba skeptically watched him while Yuugi dipped another paint brush into the paint then held it up to him. He looked at the brush then up at Yuugi, still blushing. “What?”

He lifted his shoulders. “Nothing. I just thought I’d get this started for you.”

That wasn’t what he meant and Yuugi knew it, but with nothing else to go on, he gave up, snatching the paint brush from his hands, and climbed up the ladder. Yuugi set a tray of paint on the top of the ladder for him then dipped a paint brush for himself. Carrying the paint can with him, he switched off the light and walked over to the dresser so he could climb up on it. 

It took them hours painting in the dark (and a lot more paint on them than the ceiling) but they did it. It took just as long to clean up everything as it did to paint the room because Atem or Yuugi insisted they ‘missed a spot’ over and over and over again. How could they tell? When everything was finished, the ceiling painted and the room cleared out, he liked the paint they chose. It wasn’t too bright (as he was concerned about originally) and it wasn’t too dim either. It was the perfect glow and they did a great job. At least he thought so, and he knew Atem and Yuugi thought so. They’d said it enough. 

After all that work, they laid on the bed staring up at the ceiling together. Atem had his pillow in the middle of the bed stuffed up against the headboard because he said he couldn’t see as well with it under his head, but didn’t want to move it. Kaiba offered to put it on the floor until they were ready to sleep. He insisted he was fine, though Kaiba wasn’t sure he believed it. It had to be uncomfortable. 

Yuugi laid on the other side of Atem in his usual spot, pointing up to the ceiling and telling him about the constellations he’d painted. Atem hung on every word. Kaiba was listening too, though he was more focused on Atem’s fingers wrapped loosely around his at their sides. This was better. Not as perfect as it could be, but better. Atem could be alive, Mokuba could be alive, they could be in his house in Domino City in the life he had before, he could’ve married Yuugi when and how he’d wanted to, stayed with him so the doubt Yuugi felt was never there. 

He fell asleep listening to Yuugi, dreaming about what that life would be like.

  
\---

Yuugi sat on the sofa putting his shoes on, waiting for Seto to finish up in the shower. He should be taking a shower too, but he opted instead for 15 more minutes of sleeping with Atem (who was still asleep when Yuugi got up to make breakfast). That was new. So many things were new over the last two weeks since they painted the stars on their ceiling. Atem spent a lot more time with them, laying in bed, playing keep away with his magician doll, or playing long games of chess, and that made him tired. Not that Yuugi was complaining, but it definitely took some getting used to sleeping beside him. If the cold didn’t bother him, the lack of life would. He grew used to it faster than Seto, probably because of what happened when he carried him first, but by now he was able to sleep with out the dread and unease. There was still some there, he couldn’t shake it off completely, but Atem’s sweet smiles when they touched him and didn’t move away made it all worth it.

He set his foot down, tapping his heel into the floor to make sure his boot was on right when he heard the magician bell ring beside him. 

Glancing over, he burst into laughter. “What are you doing?”

Atem scoured the sofa cushions with a look far too serious to deal with a sofa, and glanced up at him, pointing to his hair. He hardly paused a breath, before dropping to the floor and searching under the sofa.

“I don’t know what that means.” He giggled but got down on his hands and knees across from him and looked under it too. “I don’t see anything.”

When he sat up Atem looked distressed. He mouthed something and tangled his hand in his hair beside the magician doll. That’s normally where Topper sat. “Oh! You’re looking for Topper.”

He smiled and nodded vigorously.

“I haven't seen him. Did you ask the boys?”

Atem blinked then smiled, slinking into the shadows and disappearing. Yuugi giggled and started to get up when he heard a knock at the door. He frowned, wondering who that could be, and walked into the foyer. Once he opened the door, he smiled. “Hey Joey! What’re you doing here?”

“Wanted ta chek in on ya. Make sure everythin's alright.”

“Thank you Joey. It’s a lot better. I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

“Hey no sweat. You’d do the same for me.”

“And get hit probably.”

“Hey I don’t hit friends, I wrestle friends. There’s a difference.”

He laughed and stepped aside for Joey to come in. “Are you hungry?”

“Course I am!”

He led Joey through the house to the kitchen.

“So where’s Atem?”

“He’s looking for Topper. Probably playing with the boys in the bed and breakfast.” 

“Ha! Now that I gotta see.”

“What are you doing here, Wheeler?”

Yuugi stopped mid open of the fridge to look up at Seto standing in the hallway, hair still damp, but fully dressed. He probably should've warned him. “He came by to make sure we were alright.”

“We’re alive. Get out.”

“Hey ta ya too, asshole.”

“Be nice. Both of you,” Yuugi groaned and grabbed a leftover plate from dinner from the fridge.

He started to set it on the island when the whole house shook. He gasped and dropped the plate, shattering on the ground. The high pitched shatter was followed by an even louder, blood curdling scream. They all looked at each other, but Yuugi moved first, bolting through the kitchen to the front door. The screams were coming from the bed and breakfast and they weren't playful screams. It sounded like someone was in absolute agony.

He tore open the front door and ran around the building to the front of the B&B. He gasped, watching someone from the inn trying to crawl to the doors with Atem behind him, looming over him, covered in the black ink, bleeding and dripping. He bust through the doors, running for Atem to stop him as he raised his hand, clawed and inhuman, to strike him. “Atem stop!”

He reached out to wrap his arms around him, but he felt nothing, he passed right through him. Then he stopped. It felt like his lungs were flooded with soot or dirt and he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Everything went black.

  
\---

“There you are Topper. Come here. Joey’s here.” Atem smiled from the dark room as Topper moved across the hallway. “I know you missed him, didn’t you?”

Topper squeaked and waddled faster toward him, making him laugh. He heard footsteps approaching, but he assumed they were Marla or the boys and held his hands out. Topper stopped, turning to squeak at whoever approached, but they kept walking not saying anything. “You can talk to the boys later. Come on. Joey won’t be here long.”

Topper turned back to him and started walking again when a black boot came down over him. Atem screamed for them to stop, but they didn’t hear him. They stepped down on his best friend while he screamed in agony right with him. “ _NO_!”

He looked up at the man in black boots and a jean jacket as he sneered down with a disgusted frown. He didn't even care, glanced down at his  _ best friend _ like he was dirt on his shoes, making a sound of repulsion and disgust as he walked right by, leaving Topper to shriek in agony. Atem didn’t care if he was seen or not or how much of his energy he’d waste. He darted out of the room into the hallway, laying on the floor trying to help, but he had no idea what to do. 

He should’ve kept him near. Shouldn’t have let him roam the house. If he was there, this never would’ve happened. Wracked with guilt and grief, he gently picked him up. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

It felt like he heard him that time, for the first time since he'd met him. 

Topper never listened to him. He chewed on what he wanted, roamed where he wanted and did as he pleased. He ate Yuugi’s headset cord, ignoring his warning that it wasn’t food. Made a home in the top right drawer of Yuugi’s dresser, ignoring his calls to wake him up. He always found Atem no matter where he tried to hide, ignoring his insistence to leave him alone. He was the only one brave enough to follow him into the dark. The only one brave enough to sit in his hands and catch the sunlight pouring through the cracks in the boarded up windows before they were torn down. If it weren’t for him, Atem would still be nameless; hiding in the shadows wishing he could talk to Yuugi and Kaiba, but being too afraid to. Everything he did was prompted by his incredibly brave best friend really wanting to eat Yuugi’s pancakes or Kaiba’s papers or sleep in their shoes and investigate every little colorful thing they brought into the house. Topper did so much for him. 

Atem could do nothing as he stopped moving, stopped screaming, growing cold in his hands. He held him to his chest and looked up at his friend's killer walking to the front desk. He slammed his hand down on the bell several times, looking at his boot then wiping it on the ground, smearing blood on the carpet. A sniffle made him turn away and he looked down the hall at Marla and the boys, all staring at him, just as heartbroken and horrified as he was. He started to shrink back into the room, wanted to get Topper out of there, maybe Yuugi could help him, but the youngest one, Sebastian, walked up to him and cupped his hands. 

“Hey! Does anyone work in this dump?!”

Atem ignored it, though it grated on every fiber of his being. Marla muttered something and walked past her boys, stomping down the hall to the front counter. Each heavy step made him flinch reminding him that was all it took to do this. Trevor knelt down in front of him and reached out for Topper hesitating before brushing his fingers over the top of his head, petting him. “Is he okay?”

“He’s going to be okay, right?” Sebastian whispered.

Atem clenched his jaw, shifting so he could lay Topper in Sebastian's hands. No one would take better care of him than he would. His brothers crowded around him, all looking at Topper. Atem watched him breathe his last breath. He knew… He just knew.

“Sir. I understand the room was not-”

“No you don’t understand shit, but you will. I’ll shut you down! What kind of morons run this place? You have rats in the halls!”

Marla tried to get him to stop, tried being overly accommodating then tried to get him to leave. Probably because she knew too. He shook with rage as he stood. He had energy now. He pulled it from every single person watching him walk out of that hallway and scream, stumbling back into whatever they could to get away from him. He fed on the fear and his grief and his rage. The murderer tried to run, stumbling over his own two feet. He  _ laughed _ . Raising an arm to take the life he didn’t deserve to have from his retched lungs; to look at him like a blood stain on an old carpet needing to be replaced anyway. Like the mistake he was. _“Crawl.”_

“No! Please!”

_ “Your soul is mine!” _

“Atem stop!”

He couldn't let Yuugi interfere. He’d understand. He loved him too. He’d forgive him. 

Without a moment to spare he call the shadows forward, ignoring Yuugi running towards him, and directed them to tear the sniveling worm to shreds. He grinned, the tendrils from the darkness reaching out to ensnare him. No matter what Yuugi would do, his soul and vengeance would be his! 

Yuugi reached out to wrap his arms around him (to stop him he assumed), but suddenly Yuugi disappeared. He felt warmth everywhere, blinking in confusion at the checkout counter and Marla with her back pressed against it. How did he end up like this? Disoriented, he turned only for rage to turn his vision red. The worm was still trying to crawl away. The darkness was gone. He snarled and looked over at the wall where an ax encased in glass was. He stomped over to it and smashed it, pulling the ax out. Yanking it out of its case, he stormed back after the worm and lifted it above his head. 

The shadows may be gone,  _ but he was still there _ .

Something hit him hard out of nowhere, knocking the ax out of his hands and sending him and whatever it was to the ground. 

_\---_

Kaiba stared down at Yuugi. He thrashed under him with strength he knew for a fact Yuugi didn’t possess. He almost threw him off! The lights flickered and the walls creaked. His eyes were just as black as Atem’s. What the hell was going on?! “Yuugi?!”

“Let me go!” He screeched and somehow pushed himself up on his elbows almost hitting him in the nose with his forehead. Kaiba stared wide eyed at black ink oozing from his mouth while he screamed. “Let me go!”

“Not until you calm down and tell me what the hell is going on!”

“Let me go! He killed him!” Yuugi thrashed again then leaned up, the ink still dripping from his chin, and the black filling the whites of his eyes. He snarled in a demonic growl that reverberated in his skull,  _ “He deserves to die!” _

Kaiba could remember only one time in his life where he felt he was in over his head. This? He was in WELL over his head. It wasn’t a nagging feeling or a small voice saying ‘maybe this is too much’, it was a ‘you fucked up somewhere’ screaming slap in the face. He needed help. Tightening his grip on Yuugi who almost launched him into the wall, he looked up for help. 

The only one there that could was idiotically standing there with his mouth gaped open like the brainless deadbeat he was. “Wheeler!”

He seemed to snap out of it and moved, shoving into his side and grabbed Yuugi’s arm, pinning him down. “Yuug’, come on. Chill out!” 

He thrashed and it lifted both him and Joey up, almost knocking them off. “Atem stop! What are you talking about?”

“He killed him. He killed him! He’s dead!” He thrashed again and screamed in the same demonic snarl.  _ “Let me go!”  _ Kaiba watched helplessly as Yuugi tried to move, tried to kick them off, his face contorted in agony. “Please, Kaiba, let me go! He killed him!”

The lights flickered, the room grew cold and Kaiba could see his breath. Something was building up and it wasn't just centered in Yuugi.  “Killed who?”

Movement in the hall caught his eye. He looked up at Sebastian holding a bundle in his arms with his brothers next to him. They looked terrified, tears on their cheeks, but it wasn’t just because of Atem. Kaiba saw Topper’s tail poking out of the white bundle.  Marla ran up to them, pushing them back into the hall, right as the guy scrambled up to his feet. Yuugi snarled at him; inhuman like a wild animal. 

“He tried to kill me! You saw it. You all saw it. He tried to kill me! I’m going to sue this place for everything you have!” 

Kaiba just stared at him, half tempted to let Yuugi go. No, let Atem go. What a fucking idiot? Unfortunately his choice was made for him. The same invisible force that drug Yuugi under the bed sent Joey and him flying back into the wall like someone punched him square in the chest. He groaned in pain, watching Yuugi stand up. 

_ “You won’t live to lay a finger on them.” _

The walls shook and the chandelier flickered, swinging and rattling as well. Kaiba gasped, staring wide eyed at the cracks branching out from the ceiling as the chandler tore from it. “Atem!”

He tried to get up, tried to get to him before it fell, but he couldn’t make it to his feet in time. The chandelier dropped, shattering as it hit the ground just a few feet from Yuugi spraying glass everywhere. He ducked, covering his face as pieces hit his coat and sleeves. When everything stopped, he moved, bolting to his feet and rushing towards Yuugi, still standing by the shattered chandelier, the idiot gone. He grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, half wanting to scream at him and half terrified he was hurt. 

He was hurt, a few scratches on his cheek, a drop of red blood dripped down into the black ink covering his jaw. The rest of him looked alright. How he managed that, he didn't know or care. Atem looked up meeting his eyes. “He’s gone. He killed him… It’s all my fault.”

He still wanted to scream at him about almost killing both of htem but... now wasn't the right time. Instead he sighed through his nose, squeezing his shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”  Kaiba wrapped his arms around him, holding him as tight as he could and laid his head on him. “I’m sorry, Atem.”

Atem sucked in a shaky breath and hugged him back. Marla shooed the boys into their home in the back of the bed and breakfast, while he tried to think of what to do, tried to rationalize what happened. The lights flickered again, but he kept crying. Then he heard Yuugi’s voice, whispering, “He’s so sad. I don’t know what to do.”

Kaiba sat back to look at him. He still had the ink on his lips and blood on his cheek, but his eyes weren't black anymore. He looked dazed with red puffy eyes, blinking and trying to focus. 

“I don't feel good.”

Another shaky breath and he collapsed in his arms. Kaiba had to jolt forward to catch him. Slowly kneeling down and adjusting Yuugi better in his arms, he looked up at Joey. “Help me get him to the hospital.”

He nodded and ran to the door Marla and the boys went through. He knocked on it and shouted so they could hear him. “We’re takin’ Yuug’ ta the hospital. Ya alright?”

Marla opened the door, still shaking and nodded before finding her voice. “Yes. We’re alright. We’ll take care of Topper.”

Joey squeezed her shoulder and offered her a sympathetic smile. “It’s gonna be alright.”

Marla smiled back, nodding, and closed the door behind her. He thought he heard glass rustling in the room, but then it stopped. Glancing a Joey, his hands shoved in his pockets and standing perfectly still, he frowned as the rustling started again. Slowly turning back to the chandelier, he saw the man jump up, a long shard of glass in his hands. 

Kaiba reacted, as simple and as natural as a breath, shielding Yuugi. He saw it happening before it did, heard Joey shouting, but that didn't change anything. Nothing stopped him from stabbing Kaiba’s arm with the glass. Everything happened too fast for him to really comprehend. Sharp pain. Dripping red blood. He blinked and the guy was gone. Another blink and he saw something wiz by him, sliding in the glass shards out the front door, allowing it to swing shut on its own. 

...Well that happened. He huffed and tried to pick Yuugi up, he needed to get to him to the hospital but shooting pain spiking through his arm into his shoulder made him stop. "Fuck."

The glass was still in his arm, blood dripping down his sleeve onto the floor.

He didn’t want to set Yuugi down on the glass and couldn’t get the shard out with one hand. Hissing in pain, he tried to turn his forearm to examine the shard better, then promptly rolled his eyes. It was in good; too good to just hope it’d fall out if it was nudged just the right way. He should’ve let Atem kill the bastard in the first place. He thought about shouting for Marla, but she had her hands full with three distraught boys who didn’t need to witness this at all. 

He could deal.

Scooping Yuugi up, minding the shard in his arm and gritting his teeth through the pain, he decided never to harass Yuugi for being short again. If he was any bigger this would’ve been impossible. He got to the front door, pressing against it with his shoulder to open in, when Joey finally trudged up. “He got a- Fuck! You’re bleedin’!”

“No shit.” 

Honestly he was impressed Joey took the initiative to take Yuugi from him, though he wasn’t impressed when he rammed his hand right into his arm and they almost dropped him. “Sorry. Sorry.” 

He hissed and cursed under his breath, pulling the shard out of his arm and tossing it back into the mess of glass inside the lobby. “I’m driving.”

Joey quirked a brow and shrugged. “Which car?”

He pointed to his, following him to it and cradling his bleeding arm to his chest. After opening the door for them to get inside, he waited until he was sure Joey and Yuugi were settled before rounding the car to the driver side. He got in and started up the car, muttering under his breath and putting it in gear. He wanted to check on Yuugi but his arm hurt too bad to try and steer with it. Glancing over at Joey, he realized he was thoughtfully examining Yuugi. Joey didn’t do anything thoughtfully. “What?”

“What the fuck is this stuff?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” He pulled out of the drive down the long back roads to town.

“It’s… dirt… I think.“ Joey wiped some of it off Yuugi’s chin as he swayed from the uneven road then snickered, “Yeah. That’s fuckin’ dirt. I got no clue what the black stuff is though.”

Kaiba shot a quick glance at Joey in the passenger seat. He was looking down at the black inky stuff on his hand from Yuugi’s chin with his lips parted. Joey didn’t need to say anything and Kaiba didn’t need to see his hand moving closer to his mouth; he could practically hear the gerbil in his head running the wheel at top speed. “Do not do that.”

He tensed up like he was caught and immediately closed his mouth. “Do what?”

Kaiba shook his head, glaring at the road. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t even try it.”

He glanced at Joey again, noting he was blushing as he muttered, “I wasn’t gonna do it.”

Sure he wasn’t. 

He looked at Yuugi, unconscious and swaying on Joey’s shoulder, the black liquid still covering his face. He was worried about Yuugi and he was worried about Atem and the fact that Yuugi had dirt and who knew what on him, in him, didn't help that worry at all. 

“Sorry I didn’t catch the guy. He tore outta there like a bat outta hell. I dunno about killin’ him, but Atem sure scared the shit outta him.”

“Good.”

Joey chortled, “Still dunno why though.”

Kaiba sighed through his nose. “It’s complicated.”

He pulled into the hospital parking lot, driving up to the door and parked at the curb. After tossing his car keys in the center console, he got out of the car, rounding the front to get Yuugi. Joey had his door open when he got to him and he took Yuugi from him, ignoring the pain and Joey’s attempts at protesting. “Don’t wreck my car.”

“I ain’t gonna wreck your damn car, Kaiba,” he muttered, slamming the door.

“Don’t slam my doors either.”

He turned and walked through the emergency room doors, ignoring Joey's curses and muttering behind him. A gentleman with a white mask over his face looked up at him as he walked up to the desk. He started to offer him the clipboard and forms in his hand then looked at Yuugi.

“He has … ink I think, in his eyes and mouth. He’s been unconscious for the last half hour and I can't wake him up.”

He jumped around the corner of the desk calling back to some of the nurses to get a bed ready. Him and another male nurse helped get Yuugi onto a bed when they all noticed the trail of blood. Despite how furious he was that they insisted he leave Yuugi with Joey, he ended up in another part of the hospital. There, he had to explain his arm, had to explain the glass, had to get stitches and medication and fill out what felt like a million papers, answer a million questions, and finally after several hours and a headache that threatened to rival the pain in his arm, he was able to rejoin Yuugi when he was assigned a private room to stay in. He sat beside the bed, his hand resting over his injured arm covered in thick bandages. He tried getting his sleeve over it so when Yuugi woke up he wouldn’t notice, but he gave up. It hurt too much to move.

Joey sat in the chair across from the foot of Yuugi’s bed. He had his foot up on the side of the chair and rested his arm over it, still looking thoughtful and that was unnerving enough. “What?”

“I didn’t think he could do that, ya know? Maybe I shouldn’ta let him go back.”

He had mixed things to say to that,so he didn’t say anything, looking back at Yuugi; pale and weak, laying on his back on the bed. He was still cold to the touch, despite the blankets and the thermostat turned up. Kaiba had to take his coat off (another reason to leave his arm be). 

“He really woulda killed that guy.” He huffed and shook his head. “Not that I blame him. That guy was an asshole and deserved it, but… seems a little extreme.”

“Not for him.”

“Cause he’s a demon?”

“No, because Topper was the only thing he had for years.”

Joey’s expression softened and he nodded. “I get it, but if he got his way, Yuug’ would be locked up.”

“He doesn’t know anything about that.”

He nodded again and thankfully stayed quiet, but the silence didn't last long. Someone knocked at the door and that someone, a police officer, stepped inside. This had to be a joke.

“What the hell do ya want?” 

The officer grinned at Joey, ignoring him in favor of glancing up at Kaiba. “This won’t take long. I have a report of assault and attempted murder from one of your patrons.”

“No one laid a hand on that asshole.”

The officer continued to ignore Joey, walking further into the room. “These are pretty serious charges.”

Kaiba glared back at him. “Does he _look_ like he attacked anyone?”

The officer turned his gaze to Yuugi in the bed then back at him. “Looks can be deceiving.”

“If anyone should be filing charges, that bastard stabbed me with a shard of glass.” He lifted his arm to show the bandages and winced setting it back down.

The officer nodded and reached for one of the pockets on his belt. “If that’s the case, I’d like to take a statement from you.”

“Take a statement from my lawyer.”

The officer smirked and nodded, walking towards the bed and held out a card. “I’m Sheriff Marik Ishtar. If you change your mind this is my direct line.”

He took the card and tossed it on the table beside Yuugi’s bed, still glaring at him. 

The Sheriff laughed again and turned around, tipping his head to Joey and walked out of the room. Joey waited until the door shut, then turned back to him. “I shoulda punched that bastard in the fuckin’ face.”

He should have.

\---

Nothing but fog in all directions, yet he saw more than fog. Dark shapes and shadows creeped through it only to disappear when he’d look closer. Kaiba kept moving, looking for a way out, when he heard Atem calling for someone. He tried, but he couldn’t make out the name. Following his voice, he thought he saw him in the fog. It looked like he was walking right towards him. He sighed, relieved that he was alright. 

Then he saw it. 

Something behind him, dark and looming, clawed hands outstretched and it rose, taller and taller over him until it shadowed them both. He gasped and bolted for Atem when the creature in the shadows lunged for them as well.

He shot up, blinking the fog and haze away. He was still in Yuugi’s hospital room and must’ve fallen asleep. Squeezing Yuugi’s hand wrapped in his own, he sighed. He still felt like ice. Joey’s snoring made him glance over. He half laid on the plastic chair, half stretched out of it. How he was asleep was a miracle. He shook his head and looked back up at Yuugi’s face. He brought his hand to his lips and kissed him, hating that he didn’t know what was going on. The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong, which he wasn’t terribly surprised about, but he thought he’d be awake by now. 

Staring down at Yuugi’s hand and his own bandaged arm, he wondered if he might not wake up. Something he hadn’t considered before. Then Yuugi’s fingers twitched. He groaned and shifted on the bed, his eyes scrunched up then he blinked, frowning at him. “Seto?”

Kaiba breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“Where am I?”

“The hospital. You’ve been unconscious for two days.”

“Two days?”

He nodded. “How are you feeling?”

Yuugi shifted his head on the pillow and took a deep breath. “Like someone ripped my heart out and stuffed the empty space with tar.”

“That’s a pretty specific description for someone who’s been unconscious for the last two days.”

He nodded, his weak laughter filling the room, “We’ve thought about it a lot.”

“We?”

Yuugi squeezed his hand and looked up at the ceiling. “He’s still here. I can feel him.”

“When we get home, he can go back there.”

He nodded again and sighed, “What about Topper?”

“Marla and the boys buried him.”

He started to say something when Joey snored loudly and murmured in his sleep. Yuugi looked down at him and giggled. “You need to see this,” he whispered.

Kaiba sat back and blinked as Yuugi’s eyes darkened to black watching Joey sleep. He sat up fully, looking around the room like he felt just fine. Or maybe it wasn’t Yuugi that felt just fine. “Yuugi?”

He turned to face him and slowly shook his head, before staring at Joey. He licked his lips and spoke, but that voice wasn’t Yuugi’s, “I kind of want to scare him.” Then he turned back to Kaiba, smirking. “It would be funny.”

“Atem? How are you-”

Atem lifted a finger to his lips and then turned back to Joey, appearing like he mouthed “boo.” It didn’t sound like a human whisper. It sounded like a demonic beast, sending small tremors through the bed and the chairs. Joey gasped, jumped up out of the chair, and promptly fell on his ass. “What the fu- Yuug’?”

Atem threw his head back and laughed, or purred rather, and Joey’s eyes were the size of saucers, the color draining from his face. He stared at Atem’s fading laughter, switching his glare to him. “I gotta lotta fuckin’ questions. Startin’ with what the fuck is wrong with ya two?”

Atem seemed to take in the situation then tilted his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?! Ya tried ta kill someone and now you’re possessin’ my best friend and ya sound like a fuckin’- I don’t even fuckin’ know- Not human!”

Atem winced and shrunk into himself, sighing, “I’m not human.”

“I fuckin’ hear that.”

“I’m not trying to hurt him.”

“But ya are, right? That’s how bein’ a demon fuckin’ works.” He then muttered, “if I got outta Ryou what he actually meant.”

Kaiba frowned at Atem’s guilty downcast eyes. “What do you mean you ‘might be hurting him’?”

“It takes a lot of energy.”

“Yeah and ya gotta get it from somewhere.”

He nodded then smiled. “Like food. We’re starving.”

Joey snickered and pushed himself up to his feet, dusting himself off. “Yeah... me too. Kitchen’s open. Want me ta-”

“He can’t eat anything unless the doctor okayes it.”

“I’ll sneak him somethin’.”

“You're a lifesaver Joey.”

He snickered and waved him off, walking to the door when a doctor walked in. He gasped and jumped back, laughing. “Yeah I'm gettin’ food.”

He walked past the very confused doctor, who turned his attention to Yuugi and Kaiba. “Oh you’re awake! That’s great news.”

Kaiba watched the black drain from Yuugi’s eyes and he smiled, talking in his own voice. “I’m feeling a lot better.”

The doctor walked up to the bedside and started asking Yuugi the same millions of questions he’d asked Kaiba, about the dirt, about where or how he would have ingested it and telling him they needed to run a couple tests before he was allowed to leave. Yuugi answered them as best he could while Kaiba tried to come up with a plan to separate them. 

Joey came back not long after that, stealing up all of Yuugi and Atem’s attention. It was probably his biggest pet peeve with Joey, and he had a long long list of pet peeves that involved him. It worked in his favor this time, keeping their attention long enough so that they wouldn’t notice his arm. He didn’t want Yuugi doting on him and he didn’t want Atem to feel guilty on top of everything else he had to be feeling. He’d tell them when he had a chance after all of this was over.

Several hours later, around 4 in the afternoon, they finally finished Yuugi’s discharge paperwork and released him. He sat in the back seat with Joey, talking about where they wanted to get food. Kaiba kept checking the rearview mirror, watching to see if Atem took over again. 

“Whadda ‘bout the arcade?”

Kaiba shook his head. “No.”

“Oh come on. He’s fine. Look at him.”

He was.

“They gotta shit tona the good stuff.” Joey hit Yuugi’s shoulder and grinned. “Ya ain’t gonna beat my high score in Street Fighter.”

Yuugi gasped, “They have Street Fighter there?!”

“We need to go home.”

“It’ll be fine. Besides, Atem’s never seen the arcade.” Yuugi unbuckled and leaned forward wrapping his arms around his shoulders and kissed his neck. “Please!”

“You were in the hospital for two days. No.”

“That’s because-” Yuugi’s phone rang and let him go, falling back into the back seat. “Wonder who-Oh-” he answered it and smiled- “Hey Tea.”

Kaiba threw his head back against the seat. There went plans for going home and, at the very least, getting a few hours of sleep.

“Tell her we’re goin’ ta the arcade.”

“Yes I'm fine. Just… yeah. I’ll explain everything later. Hey, we’re going to get food at the arcade in town. Why don’t you guys meet us there?... Yeah it’ll be fun. Okay bye!”

At least he’ll get a chance to talk to Ryou.

“They’re going to save us a table. They were walking through town after getting settled in.”

“Shit they’re already there?”

“Yeah. Tea and Ryou came in early. Tristan and Serenity just got there but they’re almost done. They’ll come by later.”

“Hey no sweat. I’d rather know what’s goin’ on before we bring Carly inta all this shit.”

Yuugi winced and nodded, sinking into the back seat. Kaiba narrowed his eyes, watching Yuugi’s eyes darken. “Who’s Carly?”

Joey shook his head and laughed. “Ya gotta warn me when ya do that. Carly’s my niece! You’ll love her. She’s great.”

Joey spent the rest of the car ride talking about Carly, his sister and their friends. How Yuugi grew up with Tea and how Joey met Yuugi in high school with Tristan. How they met Ryou in college and how Yuugi started working at Kaiba Corp right out of college. Kaiba pulled into the lot and parked the car, tuning out whatever topic Joey moved onto as they got out. The mention of his former company, of Yuugi’s first day there, really brought him back. 

He remembered the first day he met Yuugi. 

Mokuba insisted he sit in on the testing for the project Yuugi was hired for and he didn’t even remember what it was anymore. Not that he really remembered then either. The meeting was almost over when he addressed an issue with part of the program. The others numbly agreed with him and started to tell him they’d fix it, but for the first time the whole meeting Yuugi spoke up and told him it wasn’t wrong and why it wasn’t wrong. He was in fact wrong, if he remembered correctly. Well, they were both right and both wrong. In production because of the new software to be implemented, the program would fail, but Yuugi wouldn’t have known that. 

What software was it? He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t remember any of it. All he remembered was Mokuba inviting Yuugi to lunch with them, Yuugi’s bright greetings to him around the office (like a friend instead of someone who could destroy his whole career throughout all of Domino City if he wanted), Yuugi spilling coffee all over himself before a meeting, having to wear Kaiba’s spare shirt to it and blushing the entire time, and Yuugi falling asleep on the leather sofa in his office when they both stayed late to fix a code that kept coming back with an error. He worked on so many projects with him. He couldn’t remember a single one. It wasn’t as important as memories of Yuugi always getting him better tasting coffee than anyone else, how many cups he had to save from Yuugi’s flustered clumsiness when he talked to him, or Mokuba discovering he’d asked Yuugi out on a date and screeching so loud the secretary burst into his office armed with a letter opener thinking someone was dying. 

He gave her a raise for that.

He didn’t know what was more bittersweet about those memories, that Mokuba was in them or that he used to be invincible. Now he wasn’t and that was painfully clear with his arm wrapped up in gauze hidden beneath his jacket sleeve and following them into the arcade while Joey tried to stop Yuugi’s friends from greeting Atem like they would Yuugi. It wasn’t him. 

Joey laughed, scratching the back of his neck and grinning like an idiot. “Sorry I’m makin’ this way more weird than it needs ta be,” he said, walking around them to throw his arms over their shoulders. “This is Tea and Ryou.”

Atem smiled and waved at them. 

Kaiba shook his head with a fond smirk, cradling his arm to his chest.  _ Social skills of a 5 year old. _

“Uh… very funny you two,” Tea said, smirking and elbowing Joey in the stomach. 

He groaned and laughed, but Kaiba’s attention was on Ryou, staring at Yuugi with a suspicious frown. “Are you feeling alright, Yuugi?”

Atem nodded. “Yuugi’s well.”

Tea seized up and Ryou’s eyes widened, somehow becoming paler. Tea took a step towards him and laughed nervously, “Wait… what do you mean ‘Yuugi’s well’? Joey what’s going on?”

Joey beamed and gestured to him. “This is Atem.”

“Atem? Isn’t that the name of… wait a minute…” Tea put her hands over her mouth. “Yuugi what did you do?”

“Oh relax. Atem’s a great guy.” He leaned his arm on Tea’s shoulder and shrugged. “Sides. It was kinda an accident.”

Ryou started to say something when his attention shifted behind them. “Hello Tristan.”

Kaiba turned to see Tristan and Serenity walk in, Carly racing past them to jump at Joey. “Uncle Joey!”

He laughed and picked her up in a crushing hug. “Hey princess!”

“Can we play a game?”

“Sure can!” He set her down and took her hand, turning her towards the games when she stopped, staring at Atem.

She just stared at him and he smiled at her crouching down. “Hello Carly.”

She blinked. “How did you know my name?”

“Joey told me.”

“What’s your name?”

“Atem.”

She smiled at that. “Oh! Uncle Joey told me about you. Are you going to play a game with us?”

He nodded and stood up, watching Carly tug on Joey’s hand. Joey shrugged his shoulders letting her drag him towards the games. Atem followed them. 

“Well…” Tristan said with a breathy sigh, “that was weird.”

“Yeah…” Tea swept over to Serenity, linking their arms together, and pulled her towards the tables. “Let’s get a table. This one looks good.”

Tristan walked up to him, glancing over at the three in the arcade. “What’s wrong with Yuugi?”

“He’s possessed,” Ryou murmured, watching them too.

Tristan heartily laughed, but when he noticed they weren’t laughing, his laughter died. “What?”

Ryou shook his head, staring at them with a deep frown. “I should’ve come out here when he first told me about it. I never thought-”

Kaiba walked past them to follow Tea and Serenity to the table. Ryou and Tristan followed him. Tea patted the seat next to her looking at him with a genuine smile. “Are you alright?”

He frowned at her, but sat down anyway, happy to have a chance to rest his arm. “I’m fine.”

She looked over at Ryou, who sat in a chair facing away from the arcade, Tristan next to him. “What can we do? It can’t be good for them to be like that.”

“No. It’s not and it confirms what I was afraid of.” Ryou sighed. “It’s not a ghost.”

His eye twitched, but he didn’t correct him. “No.”

“Then we need to take Yuugi somewhere to get an exorcism.”

Tea leaned on the table. “Wouldn’t that hurt Atem?”

“Well yes. It should send the demon back to where it belongs or destroy it completely.”

Kaiba leaned back in his seat, resting his hand on his injured arm. He couldn't stop himself. “He, not ‘it’, and that’s not an option.”

Ryou stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “Not an option? Yuugi’s possessed by a demon! They’re evil, Kaiba. Demons feed on the host’s life force and spread evil through them. He’s going to get sick, not act like himself, and basically waste away. He can’t stay like that!”

“I don’t want him to stay like that, but there has to be a better option.”

“A better option?” Ryou blinked. “Kaiba, demons are evil. They trick you into thinking you're safe and fain innocence so they can take everything from you. We have to get rid of it.”

“‘Him’ and I said no. We’re not doing that.”

“Do you hear yourself? You’re defending a demon who’s killing your husband. Right now. It’s evil. I understand you think it-”

Kaiba leaned over the table glaring at Ryou. “I want you to turn around and watch them. Take a good hard look. Then try to tell me that he’s evil and should be eradicated like a parasite. His name’s Atem and he’s just as much a person as Yuugi is. There’s another option and I’m going to figure it out with, or without, your help.”

Ryou leveled his glare, but turned to look at them. All of them did. 

Joey threw his hands up while Atem laughed from beating him at the game. Carly dragged Atem over to the DDR game and put some coins into it. Tea immediately shifted beside him, drawing his attention to her. She squirmed watching them and shook her head. “Oh noo…. No Joey don’t… let Carly. Damn it. I can’t.” She shoved her chair back and slid her arms across the tabletop. “Sorry guys. This is super important, but I can’t let Joey show Atem how to play DDR. He’s messing it all up. Please forgive me. I love you guys,” she said, rounding the table and waving back at them. “DDR’s my weakness!”

Serenity laughed and they watched her run up to them, shoving Joey off the stage and took Atem’s hand, pointing down at the light up floor. She said something to him and he laughed, making her look at him terrified and let him go. He saw Ryou out of the corner of his eye, ready to site that as his ‘proof’ but Carly came to the rescue. She giggled and said something. Whatever it was made Tea smile and laugh taking his hand again. He wondered if she told her that he sounded like a cat purring. Anymore, that’s all he heard.

“Hmmm.” 

Kaiba looked at Ryou, turning in his seat to fold his hands on the table. “Something's not right.”

“Exactly.”

Ryou met his gaze and took a deep breath. “We need to figure out what’s going on. I don’t… I don’t know what he is.”

“Well, we’re here for the next week.” Serenity reached over and patted Kaiba’s wrist. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. Yuugi will be fine.”

He looked up at them by the DDR game and sighed. He wasn't just worried about Yuugi.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little added warning, smutty times are had at the beginning of this chapter. Just click the link to the skip point. skip ahead
> 
> Please check out the DELICIOUS artwork that goes with this chapter by [Untimelyrose](https://untimelyrose.tumblr.com/) ! [Click here for the flareship goodness.](https://untimelyrose.tumblr.com/post/627139667649757184/my-collab-with-writelovetomeempress-for-the) She made all my flareship dreams come true. *fans self* Whooo!

Yuugi woke up with a start. He could’ve sworn he heard growling or snarling somewhere in the room, but the odd sensation of Atem in the back of his mind was still there, resting like he should be. If Atem was still asleep, it was probably just a bad dream. He relaxed, laying back down in the bed. What was he dreaming about? He closed his eyes, planning to go to sleep, but Seto shifted on the bed, wrapping his arm around him. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Just had a bad dream.”

Seto hummed and pulled him closer, kissing his cheek. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

He snuggled into him; smiling when he kissed him again. “I’m fine and shh you’re going to wake Atem up.” He giggled and turned to face him, laying his arm on top of Seto’s when he pulled back and groaned. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Yuugi frowned, looking at Seto’s arm and then gasped, “What is that?!”

Before Seto could pull further away from him, he grabbed his wrist, tugging up his sleeve to reveal gauze from his wrist to his elbow. He sat up fully, staring down at his arm then up at his face. Seto looked more annoyed than anything and sighed. “I’m fine.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were in the hospital for two days. I just needed stitches.”

“Stitches?!”

He rolled his eyes and wrapped his free arm around him, pulling him on top of him. “I’m fine, see?” 

He wiggled his wrist and waved his arm a little then cupped the side of his face. It would’ve been a good show of ‘fine’ if he managed to hide his pain a little better. Yuugi covered his hand, gently pulling it away just far enough to kiss his fingers and palm. “How did you get hurt? What happened?”

Seto just stared up at him, seemingly debating on what to say. He shifted his head on the pillow and exhaled a long loud breath. “What do you remember?”

“Running into the lobby. Trying to stop Atem. Next thing I knew I…” His brows furrowed and he squeezed Seto’s hand. “He was really sad... I was trying to comfort him. Then I was in the hospital… I think.”

Seto studied his face, brushing his bangs behind his ear and said so matter of factly Yuugi was a little surprised, “The chandelier fell and I got cut on the glass. It’s fine now. I replaced it.”

Yuugi clenched his jaw feeling like that was a mild explanation for a much more complicated scenario. His suspicions were confirmed when guilt and worry flooded into him from Atem, though he wasn’t quite sure what he felt guilty about. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

He nodded, a devilish smirk pulling at his lips. “I can prove it.” 

Before he could get a word in, Seto pulled him down and kissed his lips, soft and sweet. All the words he’d thought to say disappeared, tasting him and melting into his arms. Apparently the kiss wasn’t the ‘proof’ and Yuugi giggled feeling Seto’s hand slip under the band of his pajama pants. He broke the kiss laughing and pressed his forehead to Seto’s. “You have to be tired. You've been sleeping in the hospital the last two days.”

“I can sleep later.”

His laughter was devoured in a searing kiss while Seto’s hands snaked up under his nightshirt, gliding over his back. He lost himself in it and savored it, when he felt Atem pulling for his attention. Brushing his lips over Seto’s, he whispered, “Atem wants to kiss you too.” 

He probably should’ve given him more warning than that, but he knew Seto wouldn’t object. He pulled himself into the space between his soul and Atem’s; still wrapped up in it, difficult to tell where either of them started or ended and it was nice, wrapped up in him and Seto at the same time.

\---

Atem felt Kaiba’s hum vibrating his lips and he blinked, sucking in a sharp breath and shoving down on the bed so hard he heard Yuugi’s shoulder pop. He sat up staring down at him, absolutely mortified. Yuugi said he was ‘talking’ to Kaiba. He didn’t say anything about kissing him! All he said was Kaiba wanted to talk to him. Talk… Ha! At least Yuugi didn't trick him about Kaiba expecting him. He stared up at him with a quirked brow and slightly widened eyes like he wasn’t sure what was going on with him. Like _he_ was the problem. How was he the problem?!

“Relax.”

“I am relaxed.” Atem scowled at Kaiba’s growing grin and light laughter. “I am.”

“You have your elbows locked.”

He looked down at Yuugi’s arms. What did that mean? He tried to relax, let the tension out of his shoulders and arms. All that did was get a snide snicker from Kaiba. He glared at him, feeling the heat of his blush all the way to his ears. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

“You, Atem. You groped Yuugi in the shower, haven’t given me an iota of personal space, but I kiss you and now you’re shy.”

He started to say he wasn’t ready, Yuugi surprised him, this whole situation surprised him, but that sounded even more pathetic. He tried to switch places with Yuugi, escape from this mortifying ordeal, but he was a cackling ball of giggles and ultimately unable to do much of anything. Atem was on his own. 

“Relax,” Kaiba said again, still firm like before but now a little more soothing. He brought his hands back to where they were before when Atem jolted away, gently resting on the sides of his face. “Or did you change your mind?”

He finally let go of the death grip he had on the sheets and put his hand over Kaiba's. He felt guilty. He didn’t want him to think that. Not after everything. The yellow glow from the stars they’d painted on the ceiling shimmered in Kaiba’s eyes. He wasn’t shivering, tense and anxious like he was before. Yuugi was the same, shivering at his touch, tense and waiting… waiting for something he couldn’t begin to imagine. Part of it, maybe all of it, stemmed from what he was; a demon lurking in the shadows, cold and dead and silent. All this time, a large part of him thought that anxiety and apprehension was because of him. It wasn’t because of him. 

Kaiba breathed; slow and even, the picture perfect of calm, maybe a little curious what he was thinking. His hands were so warm on his face. Something he’d never felt before. For the first time since he walked up the creaky basement steps into an empty house- slowly deteriorating around him and taking him with it- he was warm. He could feel. He could feel the warmth on the bed where he kneeled and the warmth from Kaiba. He could smell him, smell Yuugi’s hair, smell the room and the bed; a mess of both of their scents. He licked his lips and he could taste him…

Kaiba’s eyes stayed perfectly focused on his. He could never tell him how much that alone meant to him. He was looking at _him_ ; the only part of him that Kaiba could clearly see wasn’t Yuugi. He squeezed Kaiba’s hand, smiling down at him. “No. I didn’t change my mind,” he breathed, letting himself melt into the warmth he’d never really known before.

Kaiba’s fingers slid into his hair as he leaned back down, but he refused to let go of his hand until he absolutely had to, placing his open palm on his chest to keep from just falling on him. His ears still felt too hot, his palm even more so, hyper aware of a heart beat hammering in his chest and ringing in his ears. Yuugi’s heartbeat. Yuugi buzzed in the back of his mind, making sure he knew he was there; eating up all of the loneliness. Replacing it with something hard to describe when his lips touched Kaiba’s. 

All those years in the dark were over. No more silence. No more grey. No more slivers of light cutting through the dusty air from cracks in boarded up windows. He had the sun wrapped around his soul, buzzing in the back of his mind and warming him from the inside out with ‘I love yous’ and ‘you’re homes’ and he had painted stars illuminating a tender understanding gaze made just for him and reassuring arms encasing him. His lips moved against his, pulling him in, melting him further. Part of him wanted more of this, as if this wasn’t enough, never enough, and another part of him felt like asking for more would mean losing it all and he couldn’t. He just couldn’t lose it all.

He pulled back, licking his kiss-swollen lips. “Thank you.”

Kaiba smirked, sighing in mock frustration. Yuugi loudly groaned, _‘You’re hopeless.’_

He didn't have a clue what Yuugi meant. He tried letting Yuugi take back over but he just groaned at him again. He must’ve done something, made some face or sighed, because Kaiba lifted his chin to make him look at him again. “Is Yuugi talking to you?”

“Yes. I’m apparently not doing what he wants me to do.” He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t know what he wants.”

Kaiba scoffed, still smirking up at him. “I have a good idea what he wants and he can wait.”

The sudden rush of embarrassment from Yuugi spilled into him and now both of them were overly embarrassed and he STILL didn’t know why. 

“Ahh, so that’s what you’re doing.”

“What?”

“Joey made a comment when he left. He said you kept looking away from them randomly. You just did that twice now. People usually do that when they're lying.” 

He didn’t know what to say. He didn't realize he did anything, and even if he did, he didn’t know it came off like that. It was the last thing he wanted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know-”

Kaiba’s entire expression switched from curiosity to annoyance and he bit out a derisive snort. He didn’t want to hear it and Atem knew that. Then he shifted his head on the pillow spiking up some of his hair, his annoyance giving way to a lazy smile. “Are you looking for him?”

He didn’t need to answer. Kaiba clearly saw whatever it was he wanted and Yuugi buzzed and cooed, _‘That’s so sweet! You know, I do that too. You don’t have to be embarrassed about it.’_

Groaning, he slumped down onto Kaiba’s chest, feeling the vibrations of his laughter. “I’m not embarrassed.”

_‘I can feel it! You couldn’t lie to me even if you wanted to.’_

“It’s not the same thing. It’s…” He tried to think of a better word, when Kaiba moved under him, pushing his shoulders so he’d slide over to his side. His mind went blank, staring at Kaiba as they switched places. Yuugi buzzed and cooed at that too.

“You’re both making this a lot more difficult than it needs to be.”

Yuugi immediately defended himself. _‘Me?! What did I do? I’m not even a part of this!’_

Atem chuckled, “You are.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes, leaning down and kissing his neck.

_‘Only by proxy. This is all you.’_

He smiled, feeling Kaiba lay more of his weight on him. His warm breath and lips on his neck made it difficult to focus on talking to Yuugi. “In part.”

_‘Ah huh. You’re in our room, with the love of our lives, in our body. What part of this aren't you in?’_

He didn’t have a good answer to that and he couldn’t come up with one either. Kaiba was either entirely unaware of their conversation or did not care. At all. His hands snaked under Yuugi’s night shirt, pulling it up as he stared down at him waiting for him to do something. He wasn’t sure what he wanted exactly, being caught between two very different realities at one time. He should pick one. It wasn’t fair to either of them. Abandoning Yuugi's question, he sat up helping Kaiba slip his shirt off over his head then laid back down.

_‘See? All in.’_

Kaiba laid back over him, capturing his lips in a heated kiss. Nothing like before. He kissed him with a hunger that stole his breath away.

_‘Mmm he’s a good kisser, isn’t he?’_

Atem moaned his agreement into the kiss, pulling him closer, loving the feel of hands wandering over his chest and sides. He wondered if Yuugi could feel this too or if that was just a fond observation he’d made. He hoped he could. Hoped he could taste his tongue, slipping into his mouth. Hoped he could feel his heart racing when he pulled on Kaiba’s shirt; a silent command to remove it. Yuugi could see the dark desire in his eyes when Kaiba broke the kiss, lifting up to pull it off over his head and toss it to the side of the bed, couldn’t he? 

He watched him through lidded eyes, breathless, as he removed everything coming between them. Electrified by the feel of his skin against him when he laid back over him. He gripped his upper arms, tilting his head to let Kaiba kiss along his neck and across his collarbone, scraping his teeth over Yuugi’s delicate skin. He closed his eyes, that image burned in them. Kaiba kissed and nipped down his chest and abdoman, running his fingers over his hip and sides, causing him to shiver. 

Yuugi could feel it. He was sure of that, feeling the want and need inside him igniting and Yuugi’s compromised husk, _‘Sure he’d choose now to listen to me. Tell him to hurry up.’_

“Patience is a virtue, sunbeam,” he breathlessly whispered.

Kaiba snickered against his skin, kissing him one final time just before his mouth could get to where he really wanted it. His cock twitched and he let out a huff of impatience. Maybe Yuugi had a point. Kaiba kissed him again, devouring his mouth and sucking on his tongue tilting to his side reaching for something. Yuugi muttered about how he was taking too long to touch him, but he was more focused on a strange click and Kaiba’s movement over him, reaching down between his legs. He shuddered from the cold, though he wasn’t cold for long. Kaiba massaged him with slick fingers before slipping one into him. He sucked in a sharp breath, breaking the kiss but Kaiba didn’t stop; kissing along his jaw and sucking a bruise into his neck. He gripped the sheets and melted to Yuugi’s soft moan.

Kaiba slipped another finger into him, curling them and he gasped, tightening his grip on the sheets. That felt good. That felt really good. Kaiba sat up, the only thing making him open his eyes. He smirked down at him, doing it again and he gasped again, his eyes rolling back. He shifted on the bed, backing up and laying kisses over his chest and stomach. When his tongue licked his cock from base to tip, he moaned. His hips bucking up, needing him to do that again. Kaiba’s fingers curled as he did, and moaned louder, opening his eyes. He untangled his hand from the sheets, and buried his fingers in his hair. 

His head spun, watching Kaiba take him into his mouth, eyes locked with him. He couldn’t catch his breath. Pleasure coiled inside him. Everything he did to him- his mouth around him, swallowing him in wet heat and his fingers inside him- brought him to a whole new level of pleasure. He laid his head back, giving in to it when Kaiba stopped. He gasped, tightening his grip in Kaiba's hair in a failed attempt to communicate that was the last thing he wanted. Kaiba wasn’t picking up on it. Or maybe he was.

He laid back over him, sliding his hand along the underside of his thigh, leaving behind a cold trail until he hooked his knee. He wrapped his arms around Kaiba’s shoulders, fueled by Yuugi’s anticipation and his own. Everything he did felt good, so good, so much more than he ever felt before. He knew whatever Kaiba was doing would be no different. 

“Relax.”

He was trying.

Kaiba brushed his lips against his jaw, making him shudder. “Let me take care of you.”

He didn’t deserve it, felt like he was taking something from them. All day Yuugi urged him to do things he couldn’t before. Wanted him to dance, wanted him to know what the arcade smelled and sounded like, wanted him to know what it was like to laugh with friends, wanted him to feel how gentle Kaiba’s kisses could be. He didn’t deserve that either. 

Kaiba pushed his knee up to his chest, leaning back. He might not deserve this, but he couldn’t help himself. Leering at him as he stroked his rigid cock, coating it. His breath hitched, feeling him move on top of him so he could press the head of his cock against him, slowly sliding into him. 

Yuugi moaned, his voice thick with want sending a pleasurable shudder down his spine, _‘Ooh yes!’_

He gripped the sheets tight, wadding them up in his palm, lost in the sinsation, lost in Yuugi’s enthusiastic moans. Kaiba’s grip on his thigh tightened, pushing his knee further into his chest so he could lay closer to him, thrusting further into him until he could feel his body curling around him. Staring up at blurry glowing stars with lidded eyes, he felt Kaiba grip the back of his hair as tight as he held his thigh, grazing his teeth over his neck. He slowly rolled his hips, pulling a moan from Yuugi and he mirrored it. The sensitive skin on his neck tingled from where Kaiba’s lips pressed against it, stifling his low grunt in return. Everything he did was slow, sweet and torturous, and they were writhing, wanting more. 

_‘I wish I could see you.’_

“Ah,” he moaned, letting go of the bedsheets to wrap his arms around him, clawing his fingertips into his back when he picked up the pace. 

The glow reflected off of Kaiba’s skin, slick with sweat. He wanted to feel all of him, running his fingertips and palms over every muscle and curve of his back and shoulders. He couldn’t get enough of the salty taste of his skin and softness of his lips. Couldn’t get enough of Kaiba’s scent, not his cologne, and it was driving him crazy. Pressing his nose into the crook of his neck, he breathed him in; kissing and licking along his collarbone. 

_‘Did you watch us fuck like this?’_

A strange combination of embarrassment and arousal shot straight to his groin at those breathy words. “Ahh, yes.”

_‘Did you like it?’_

He loved it. He loved how much Yuugi loved it and feeling it now, he more than understood. Being loved by them was like nothing he’d ever experienced, and though he didn’t remember, he was positive no greater experience existed. “Yes!”

Overwhelming pleasure spiked through him, again and again with Kaiba’s thrusts, curling his fingers and toes. Kaiba reached between them, stroking him and he keened. Yuugi was no less vocal. He wished Kaiba could hear him. Wished he could see Yuugi’s face as they both came hard; his body ridged and forehead pressed against Kaiba’s shoulder. Warm cum streaked across his chest, hitting his chin and he was pretty sure in his hair, turning cool almost instantly. Kaiba wasn’t far behind him, thrusting into him and curling around him, shouting his release into the top of his hair. 

He panted and gasped, still holding on to him as tight as he could, though his strength was fading. Yuugi laughed, light and airy before sighing, contented. _‘We should do that more often.’_

“I agree.”

“Hmm?”

“Yuugi said we should do this more often.”

Kaiba scoffed, shaking his head as he rolled off of Atem to lay by his side, “He always says that.”

Yuugi giggled. _‘I do! Not my fault.’_

Atem1 tried to switch with Yuugi again, but he still wasn’t having any of it. He sighed, a soft smile permanently etched on his face feeling Kaiba pull him closer to lay his head in the crook of his neck. He wondered if he could stay like this forever, despite the nagging feeling that it wasn’t right. He wanted it to be right. They could figure it out, couldn't they? Yuugi and Kaiba were already trying to figure it out. It could work. 

Kaiba laid his arm over him and hissed when he rest it on his chest.

He laid his hand over the back of Kaiba’s, squeezing it. “I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was my fault. I-” A loud creek interrupted him and frowned, sitting up and searching the room. 

The closet door slowly creaked open, resting against the wall. Seto sat up with him, staring at it then him. “Why did you do that?”

Why indeed. 

_‘I didn't do it.’_

“I’m not saying you did,” Atem murmured, moving to the edge of the bed. 

“What?”

“I… don’t remember doing that.”

Kaiba sighed, sounding annoyed, not that he blamed him. He was annoyed. He climbed out of bed, walking over to the closet and hesitantly grabbed the handle. He’d know if something else was there, someone like him. Closing the door, he scrutinized it, but still felt nothing there. Stepping back and rubbing his wrist out of nerves, he opened it again, letting it swing against the wall then close. It had to be him. 

Yuugi laughed, _‘Ahhh, I see. Having such a good time it just kind of happened?’_

He blushed, glaring at the door and turned away. “No.”

_‘Ah huh. I’m surprised you didn’t do that earlier.’_

He climbed back into bed, the embarrassment from Yuugi’s teasing clearly written all over his face no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Kaiba didn’t say anything, laying down and waiting for him. He laid with him, never taking his eyes off the door. Yuugi was probably right, but just in case. 

“I didn’t know you could still do that,” Kaiba said, gesturing to the door with his gauze wrapped arm, “move things on their own.”

“I didn’t know I could either.”

Kaiba didn’t respond for a while, so he continued to stare at the door trying to remember opening it. When Kaiba finally did say something, Yuugi added to his discomfort. “You’re making me nervous.”

“Yuugi thinks I did it by accident.”

“You don’t.”

“...No.”

“So why did that happen?”

“I don’t know.”

Kaiba sighed, drawing small circles with his fingers on his chest. “That's why I’m nervous.”

_‘And now we’re all nervous.’_

“There's no one else here. I’d know.”

_‘It had to be us then, right? Who else could it be?’_

“If he asked ‘who else it could be’, I have a very long list of ‘who else could it be’s’ that I said about you.”

Atem rest his chin on Kaiba’s head, finally tearing his eyes away from the door and sighing through his nose. “I’d know.”

“Are you sure?”

_‘...You’re not... Are you?’_

“No.” 

\---

Despite the feeling that everything could change and go to hell in the next breath, the week with Yuugi’s friends there went really well. The had the run of the place since that incident with the chandelier set them back a few weeks. He spent the better part of the first day or so calling and emailing to change out reservations or refund them entirely. Yuugi tore up the card from Sheriff Marik Ishtar, muttering about how that family was in everything, like ants, but because he had to explain everything about it to Atem, he insisted the word Yuugi was looking for was cockroaches. He had to agree. They never heard another word from him since that brief encounter in the hospital. Kaiba wondered just how real what his excuse was. Did that asshole actually file charges or did his sister send him in to spy on them? It sounded a little far fetched, but who knew anymore.

Atem played with Carly and the boys outside in the snow every day, Yuugi dragged him with them to sightsee everything Joey suggested, which turned out to be nicer than he thought it would be. Kaiba liked being able to do that with Yuugi _and_ Atem. Before, they were stuck in the house unable to really be close to Atem because of what he was. Now he could touch him, he could talk to him and the look of delight and aw in his face as he experienced new places, new things, was worth the anxiety. Maybe not worth where his anxiety was accumulating to, but it was worth it up to that point. Their friends got to know Atem better, and after a week, were all worried about Atem getting hurt in all of this like they were worried about Yuugi. If it weren’t for Yuugi eating everything in sight, out eating Joey, and sleeping longer and longer each day, he’d say Ryou and he were both worried about nothing. 

It’s never nothing.

His arm was better, still achy and itchy but it didn’t kill him every time Yuugi accidentally bumped him. Atem may have never bumped his arm, but he wasn’t any better. Here he was trying to avoid Yuugi’s doting on him, Atem was 10 times worse and between the two of them, he actually looked forward to Yuugi’s friends taking their attention off of him so he could breathe without a ‘don’t use your arm for that’, ‘let me get that for you’, or his personal favorite ‘oh I’m sorry I just forgot’.

The last day of everyone together, Ivy invited them out to her house insisting she meet Atem, and Yuugi wouldn’t let him say no. Unlike the last time they were over, Ivy didn’t spray Yuugi down with whatever was in that little spray bottle in her pocket. Instead, she ushered him in, arm around his shoulders, and set him down at the kitchen table; ignoring everyone else and asking him how he was feeling and if he needed something to eat. 

Mr. Wheeler ushered them into the living room and they sat down on the old yellow floral sofa and loveseat while Mr. Wheeler took over the worn out leather recliner. Ivy’s decor could best be described as that of an old grandmother still holding onto the 50’s for dear life. Glass and porcelain figurines of birds and flowers covered every shelf and surface. The sofa even had a knitted afghan draped over the arm. 

The walls, however, didn't have pictures of family or friends or flowers or birds. Instead, they had pictures of yellow collectible sports cars. He commented about it the first time they were roped into dinner. She grinned at the ‘old lady’ comment and defended it by saying the cars _were_ her family. 

When the silence between them grew stale, Mr. Wheeler sat up and tapped Joey’s shoulder, smiling. “That little girl’s getting so big.”

“Yeah she is!”

“Thanks for letting me tag along yesterday.”

“Ah, come on dad. Ya couldn’t not be there.”

“Yes, but still. I’m worried about you.”

“Me?”

“You’ve stayed here for at least a month.”

Joey smiled and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and sliding his palms together. “Sure have.”

“Lose your job again?”

“Actually nah. I got a new job. Don’t start for another month.”

“And you can afford that?”

Joey smirked and glanced towards the kitchen. “If I can fake Ivy inta thinkin’ I need ta be here, sure.”

Mr. Wheeler laughed and shook his head. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Thanks dad.”

Tea giggled and shook her head. “I was about to ask you that too. What kind of job is it?”

Joey started talking about his new job as a scuba diving instructor and rambling on about how he’d be able to travel everywhere. Blah blah blah. He looked past him towards the kitchen at Ivy sitting at the table with Yuugi. He strained to hear them over Joey’s loud rambling. Though he could see and hear that it wasn’t Yuugi she was talking to.

“Don’t remember nothin’ huh?”

“No. All I remember is the house.” He hummed and smiled, looking down at the cup of tea she’d given him. “Well, mostly Yuugi and Kaiba moving in. Though it sounds like you might know more about me than I do.”

She laughed and nodded. “If you’re that poor kid from the Sennen family like Yuugi and Kaiba think you are then yes, I do.”

Atem looked down at the tea cup in his hands like he was lost in concentration then looked up at her. “Would I be better off not knowing?”

She leaned on her crossed arms over the table and nodded. “I’ll tell you one thing, your family loved you a lot.”

Atem smiled sadly. “I don’t remember them.”

“Well they remembered you.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it, setting it down in front of him. “See?”

Atem picked up the paper and frowned. “That’s my family?”

She shrugged her shoulders and tapped the edge of the paper. “Recognize anyone?”

He looked up at her then back down at the creased paper. As he looked at the paper, Kaiba realized the living room was silent, all of them watching Atem as well. Tea got up and crossed the room, walking around the table to lean over Atem’s shoulder. “Ha! Yeah that explains a lot.” Atem turned to frown at her and she laughed, looking up at Kaiba. “Come see this.”

He got up, the others following him into the kitchen, and walked to Atem’s side, leaning over to see a black and white photograph in his hands. It was what looked like Atem’s entire family. Just like any photograph back then, no one smiled. Not that it took away from them. It was nice seeing Atem without the ink and pale skin and black eyes. He looked perfectly… human.

Atem snickered, glancing over his shoulder and pink dusting Yuugi’s cheeks. 

“What?”

“Nothing. Yuugi’s just… trying to make me feel better.”

Tea leaned on his shoulder, still looking at the photograph. “Is that your mom and dad and siblings?”

“Yes.”

“Your brother’s cute too.”

Joey laughed and shook his head. “Tea, you’re the worst.”

“What? You don’t see him. And your sister’s adorable. She looks like she’s maybe 8 in this picture.”

Ivy hummed, “She was young. Probably 8 maybe 9 when she died.”

Suddenly Atem set the picture down and slid it back over to Ivy, refusing to look at it. She took it, nodding solemnly and put it in her pocket. No one said anything and the awkward silence caused most of them to sit down at the table, visibly trying to think of something to say to clear the air. Kaiba stayed standing just behind Atem with his hand on his back, doing just like they were, trying to think of something to say. 

“Life was pretty rough back then. Scarlet fever’s hard on little ones.”

“What happened to the rest of my family?”

Ivy sighed and rubbed her chin, “Well, it’s hard to say. I’ve heard a lot of different stories.”

Atem turned to her and frowned. “Different stories?”

“Oh sure. According to the papers, the little one died of scarlet fever, then, some years later, there was a fire in the family house just before they could move into the new one being built. When it rains it pours.” 

“That’s sad,” Tea sighed, “but I don’t understand why there would be different stories. That seems pretty straight forward.”

“It is. It’s a logical reasonable explanation for the horrible things that happened to that family that cannot be logically and reasonably explained.” 

“Which of the things-” Atem paused, looking up at Ivy. “What really happened?”

“You said you didn’t want to know, kid.”

“I need to know.”

She grinned at him and shook her head. “You do realize that’s poking the bear right? You sure you want to do all that?”

He looked confused, just as confused as everyone else. 

“What’s your name?”

“Atem.”

“No no. I mean. What’s your real name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Remember your sister or brother’s names?”

He shook his head.

“What’s the first thing you remember?”

Atem answered a lot faster than Kaiba would’ve expected. He didn’t need to think about it, didn’t try to think about it, and it made him realize just how often he did try. He had a very clear ‘first memory’ and it didn’t matter what he tried to do to get anything else, it never worked. “My first memory was walking upstairs from the basement and calling for anyone because I didn’t know where I was and no one answered me. It stayed like that for years.”

“Did you try to leave the house?”

“The door was locked. I tried everything to get it open. It never opened.”

“You had windows.”

“It was the same as the door.”

She smirked. “Must be having the time of your life, aren’t you?”

Atem grinned, looking around at Yuugi’s friends then up at Kaiba before smiling at her. “I really am.”

“Well alright. If you need to know I guess it’s your right. Most folks around here don’t like talking about it, so I only have bits and pieces before they realized they said too much.” She leaned back in the chair, rapping her fingernails on the table. “Losing the little one tore your family up. Some time later, at least a decade I think, you and your brother ran into someone who promised to be able to bring her back and… well it went south.”

“What do you mean ‘bring her back’?” Tea asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion and brushed her hair back behind her ear. “It’s impossible.”

“Whoever it was said they could do it ‘for a price’ of course. Said they’d done it before, had proof or something. You boys weren’t stupid. You were a doctor and your brother was a teacher. Apparently you both had a little too much faith in miracles.” She looked up at Kaiba and tisked. “And you say I’m superstitious.”

“You are Ivy.”

“Prepared,” she laughed. “Anyway, you all saw that photograph. You saw the house. They weren’t hurting for much. I imagine they paid that person a pretty penny to bring her back. So they paid him, he ran off to god knows where leaving them with a ritual to bring her back. Should’ve been fool proof.”

“Ooooh. I see where this is going,” Ryou murmured. 

“I still can’t get out of anyone what happened between that point and when the parents died, but the stories I’ve heard go from the ritual to the fire, but your father didn’t die in the fire. His tombstone clearly states that despite the paper. He buried his whole family, made sure the house was built right, took care of it until he died, but the town all thought he’d died because no one could find him.”

“Someone had ta if he’s buried with the rest of the family,” Joey commented.

“Someone did. The Ishtar family did.”

Kaiba scoffed, “Of course they did.”

“Yep. I’ve heard at least 5 other rumors about what happened that are all completely different, each one crazier than the last. That’s just the one I could get the most consistent. I got a feeling, if you want to know what _really_ happened, they’re the people to talk to. They know. I’ll bet my sobriety on it.”

Tea leaned forward taking a breath to say something when a timer blared from the kitchen stove. “What’s that?”

“Dinner of course. Why do you think I invited all of you out here?” Ivy laughed and pushed back her chair, Joey’s father did too.

“I’ll help you.”

“Thanks, Jo.”

  
\---

“Yuug’ seriously there’s plentya food. Ya don’t need ta inhale it.”

Joey laughed, but Yuugi wasn’t paying attention. He shoveled more into his mouth then coughed and pushed the mostly empty plate away. “I’m still hungry.”

“I’ll get you another plate, hun.” Ivy started to get up, but Kaiba waved her off. 

“No. He’s had enough.”

“I’m still hungry.”

“You’re going to get sick.”

Yuugi glared at him, the ink around his eyes darkening. “Why would you care?”

Kaiba just stared at him not sure what to say.

“Yuug’ ya did eat a lot.”

Yuugi ignored him again. “I’m still hungry.”

“No.”

“No?” Yuugi laughed, but it sounded more like a growl and he pushed the plate over to him. “Get me more. Consider it a last request.”

Kaiba grit his teeth. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Yuugi tilted his head, the black taking over his irises like it did when Atem possessed him, but he still heard Yuugi’s voice. “What's wrong Seto? Am I not as important to you as Mokuba was? You had no problem giving him anything he asked for, even though it made him sicker. What’s the difference in watching him sick and sobbing on the floor because of you, and watching me?”

“Yuugi!” Tea gasped.

Kaiba just stared at him. As much as it hurt, especially with Yuugi saying that, something was wrong with it. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Yuugi didn’t know about that. Atem didn’t know much of anything and even if he did, why would he start on that now? Why would he use Yuugi’s voice? It’s almost like he knew it would hurt more.

“Who are you?”

Yuugi just grinned, dark and not like him at all. “The one you’re killing just like you did him.”

Kaiba shot up and reached over the table, grabbing the front of his shirt and hauling him up, ignoring Tea and Ryou attempting to stop him. “Who the fuck are you?”

As angry and hurt as he was before, listening to him laugh at him made it ten times worse. He felt like he was in a dream watching himself haul back to punch him as hard as he could. Half of him wanted to knock that grin off his face while the other half of him was screaming at him to stop. He couldn’t stop.

“Kaiba!”

Out of nowhere, and right as he’d hoped, Joey jumped over the table and tacked him to the ground, knocking them both into the dining room chairs and sending plates shattering on the ground. The pain in his back, his neck and his head, just… everywhere brought him out of it. He groaned, watching Ryou pull Joey up and push him back. “That’s not helping.”

“He was gonna-”

“I know. Go outside. Come on. I’ll go with you.”

Mr. Wheeler pulled Joey with him, protesting the whole way, and Ryou followed them. Kaiba tried to push himself up and not get glass in his palms. He already had one wounded arm. He didn't need two. When he stood and noticed Yuugi was gone. Tea turned to say something to Yuugi and she noticed he was gone too. “He was right there!”

Ivy came back into the room with a broom and a mop bucket. Stopped and looked at Kaiba. “This is what I was worried about. Evil. It’s stuck to that poor kid like glue.” She shook her head and gestured with the broom to the living room. “I’ve got this. I think I saw him run down the hall.”

He wanted to apologize to her for everything but he couldn’t leave Yuugi… or whatever it was possessing him by himself. Tea nodded to him and walked out of the kitchen into the living room. “Yuugi!”

He followed her, searching the room, when he heard crying down the hall. Tea took a deep breath and wrung her hands together, before charging down the hall to the only door with light coming from under it. She tried to turn the handle but it was locked so she banged on the door. “Yuugi?”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry just open the door.”

“What’s happening to me?”

Tea tried the knob again then looked up at him. He looked back at Ivy in the kitchen, realizing they were going to be paying to fix a lot of her things. He pushed her aside and kicked the door by the knob, splintering it and it swung hard against the wall, lodging the doorknob into the drywall. He had every intention to run into the room, but when the door opened he just stood there stunned. The whole bathroom was covered in dirt and blood. Bloody hand prints on the sink, the broken mirror, the torn shower curtains… the ceiling. How the fuck did it get on the ceiling? The toilet over flowed, pouring muddy water onto the floor, mixing with the dirt and the blood while Yuugi sat in the corner of the wall and the tub with his knees pressed tight to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. 

“I… I can’t… breathe.”

That snapped him out of it and he ran into the room, sliding in the water and knelt down beside him, scooping him up. Tea stepped aside, her fingers curled around the doorway. “Take him outside. I’ll call an ambulance.”

He nodded to her and tried to walk out of the bathroom as carefully as he could not to slip, then ran down the hall and through the living room to the front door. It opened and he stepped back, to see Ryou standing there wide eyed. “OH!”

He backed up to let him through and he ran past him to the patio swing and set Yuugi down on it. It was only at that point that he realized Yuugi was staring at him. He took several strained breaths, sounding like he had something stuck in his lungs that rattled and whistled. “Are-” he gasped- “you mad… at me?”

“No.”

Yuugi didn’t look like he believed him but that look replaced by agony and he doubled over coughing and gagging. Kaiba moved to his side and put his hand on his back, not knowing what to do. Yuugi sobbed and gagged again, dirt and blood pouring from his mouth. Then he sank down from the patio swing, clawing at his neck and shoving his fingers into his mouth down his throat. “Stop! What are you doing?”

But he wasn’t listening to him, crying and doubling over, gagging again and coughing. The sound of glass hitting the concrete patio made him look down as Yuugi shakily pushed an old glass thermometer across the porch away from him. He gasped and breathed without the rattle or the whistle and he sat up sniffling. “I’m fine. See?” Yuugi whispered, “You don’t need to be scared anymore.”

“Who are you talking to?”

He sighed, leaning over into Kaiba’s chest and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Atem’s scared, but I’m fine.”

“Scared? Of what?”

“I… don’t really know.” Yuugi hugged him tighter and buried his nose in his chest.

Kaiba wrapped his arms around him and kissed his head. “That’s not going to help you breathe.”

“It actually is. I keep smelling dirt. You smell better.”

He snickered, looking up at Ryou and Joey on the other end of the porch. “Did Tea call the-”

“Yeah, they’re on their way. How ya feelin’ Yuug’?”

“Like I have the stomach flu. I hurt everywhere, my stomach’s upset, and I’m so tired.”

Joey laughed and nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Maybe I have food poisoning,” Yuugi murmured sleepily.

Food poisoning… right. “Why did you ask me if I was angry with you?”

Yuugi yawned and adjusted himself to lay more comfortably on him. “I locked the door on accident.”

“On accident?”

“It must’ve been an accident,” Yuugi hummed, “I don’t remember getting up from the table. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

None of this was adding up. He looked up at Ryou and Joey, seeing red and blue lights flickering against the house. What the hell was going on?


	11. Chapter Ten

Once again, he sat beside Yuugi’s hospital bed, watching him sleep while Joey snored on the chair at the foot of the bed. Ryou was in the hallway talking on the phone with someone. Tea was out there with him. He wondered why they were there. They could’ve gone back to get some sleep, but they refused to leave. When Ryou and Tea walked back into the room, Tea waved at him to follow her back out into the hallway. He sighed and stood up, walking around the bed. Ryou took his place beside Yuugi. 

Out in the hall, he thought she’d say what she wanted but she kept walking down the hall, making sure he was following her. “Ivy wants us to meet her in the lobby. She said she didn’t want to cause a fuss or anything.”

He nodded.

“And I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

He wrinkled his nose glaring at her.

“Don’t look at me like that. I know you’re worried about them.” She slowed her pace so she was walking beside him. “And don’t take what Yuugi said at dinner seriously. That wasn’t him. What’s crazy is it didn’t really sound like Atem either.”

“No it didn’t.

She nodded, chewing her bottom lip. “Ivy thinks there’s something else there. Something evil and it’s not Atem. I know he told you he was a demon, right?” Kaiba frowned at her and she hummed smiling. “He told me he did. I asked him what he was. I wonder if maybe he thinks he’s something he’s not, you know? It would explain a lot. This whole thing has Ryou in panic mode thinking you and Yuugi got the wrong idea. He’s wrong.”

“Not that I disagree, but why do you think that?”

Tea grinned up at him, her eyes glinting with mischief, then she looked straight ahead towards the lobby. He could see Ivy walking in the front door and thought Tea wouldn't answer him, but she did. “Yuugi might have questionable taste in men, but you don’t.”

He wrinkled his nose, scowling at her growing grin. That was the most back handed compliment he’d ever received. He was pissed, but he couldn't say much of anything as Tea quickened her pace, holding her arms out to Ivy. “Hey!”

“Hey!” She hugged Tea and stepped back, holding out a plastic bag full of something. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s sleeping. He’ll be released in the morning after they do a few tests. Just like last time it sounds like.”

Ivy nodded, turning to smile at Kaiba. “You holding up?”

He nodded. 

“Get a hold of that woman from the Ishtar family. Talk to them and see if you can get some information. I’ll do some digging too.” She sighed and shook her head. “I warned him.”

“Warned him?”

“Evil’s stuck to that kid like glue.” She sucked her teeth then clicked her tongue, looking thoughtful for a moment. “Makes no sense really.”

“None of this makes sense.”

“You’re right about that. Can’t say I’ve ever met someone who  _ wanted _ to keep a ghost in their house.”

Tea snickered and he glared at her. She cleared her throat and held her hands behind her back swaying slightly. “She’s got a point.”

He just glared at both of them. What was he supposed to say? They didn’t see his hair. Didn’t see how gentle and playful he was with Yuugi. Didn’t see how alone and starved for any kind of contact he was before and how beautiful it was that he wasn’t anymore. They didn’t know anything about how he took care of both of them, watched over both of them. They wouldn’t understand. Yuugi loved him; he loved him and he didn’t need to explain himself, even if he could.

“You staying the night, Tea?”

She nodded. “I can’t leave him here. I feel bad enough I have to leave tomorrow.”

“He’ll be fine.”

Tea nodded again, but she didn't look convinced. “I just can’t take any more days off work. It was already hell getting this week off. Mai’s been texting me the last three days of phone calls I’ve gotten from work. I can’t make her deal with that forever.”

Ivy chuckled, “I get it. Take care.” She looked up at him and grinned, patting him hard on the shoulder. “Get some sleep.”

He humphed watching her turn and walk towards the door. Tea hummed and turned as well, walking back down the hall. He followed her, still bitter about the entire thing. The hospital was empty, not entirely empty, but it sure looked it now. The fluorescent lights held an eerie glow and it didn’t make him feel any better. He still hated hospitals. Bitter with her or not, he realized walking in silence wasn’t going to help his nerves so he bit the bullet. “What’s in the bag?”

“Change of clothes for Yuugi and some snacks for us. Are you hungry?”

He nodded and watched her reach into the bag. She pulled out two bags of chips and handed him one, opening one herself. “I really feel bad that I have to leave…”

“Don’t.”

“Can’t help it. Yuugi’s been my BFF since we were kids. I feel like the worst friend ever.” She took a deep breath and sighed. 

The hospital was quiet, only the sounds of their footsteps down the empty hall. He swore he could hear himself breathe. It wasn’t until they turned down the hallway to Yuugi’s room and heard Joey’s snores, that he could take a normal breath. Tea chuckled to herself and reached into the bag of chips. “He can sleep through anything. I’m so jealous. It’s not fair. He can sleep, I can’t. He can stay, I-” She puffed out her cheeks with a big exhale. “Now I get it. I get why Yuugi was so upset.”

“Upset about what?”

“You. When you broke up with him I never got why he was so upset for not being there for you with Mokuba. I used to think he was crazy for that. You clearly didn’t want him there, he shouldn’t feel bad, but I get it now. It just sucks. So much.”

Though the situation was worlds different, he supposed he appreciated the sentiment. He didn't know Yuugi felt that way before. He should have, but he didn’t. Walking into the hospital room behind Tea, he kept his eyes on Yuugi, still asleep; still unmoving. Ryou stood up and walked over to the chair beside Tea and sat down, stealing some of her chips. He sat down where he was before, beside the bed and looked down at Yuugi. Not better, not worse.

He set the bag of chips on the table beside him and leaned forward on the bed, taking Yuugi’s hand in his. He laid his head down on his uninjured arm and closed his eyes, listening to Joey snoring and Ryou whispering to Tea about how he just wanted one more chip. He didn’t know how long he was listening to that when he fell asleep.

\---

Yuugi woke up in a dimly lit room. He heard snoring and blinked, squinting at the foot of the bed. Joey laid in the most ridiculous position over a metal chair snoring his head off. Smiling fondly at his best friend, he laid back, staring up at the ceiling. It looked like a hospital room. He tried to remember how he got there, but all he could remember was having dinner at Ivy’s. Did he get sick or something? He tried to rub the sleep from his eyes, but his hand wouldn’t budge. Looking down at it, he smiled. Seto laid his head on his folded arm, facing him; Yuugi’s hand under all of that. He snickered and reached over with his free hand, minding the IV in his arm. He brushed Seto’s hair from his face and smiled when he opened his eyes. “Hey,” he whispered.

Seto blinked and sat up, looking around the room like he wasn’t sure where he was either. After a moment he sighed, content like it was how it should be and his gaze turned back to him. It was unfocused and sleepy, making Yuugi smile. Then he laid his head back down, closing his eyes. Yuugi bit the inside of his cheek thinking he’d fallen back to sleep and tried to stifle a laugh, but Seto opened his eyes again. “How are you feeling Mr. Kaiba?”

Yuugi groaned, his face suddenly very hot and yanked his hand out from under him to cover his face. “I don’t feel good enough for you.”

Seto chuckled, sleepy and deep, making him blush and smile more.

Atem buzzed with laughter in the back of his mind, ‘Wait… That’s it? That’s his pet name for you?”

“Oh no.”

Seto loudly exhaled and closed his eyes again. “What?”

“You told Atem about that?”

“About what?”

Although he was still trying to whisper, he wasn’t all that quiet, “You know what!” 

He chuckled again and nodded. “He asked.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to tell him.” Yuugi couldn’t stop smiling, even with his face covered up by both hands now, and Atem was having way too much fun at his expense. “Tell him to stop.”

“Stop what?” Seto whispered then yawned.

“He’s making fun of me.”

‘I would never.’

“I would too. We’ve been married for years. You should be used to it by now.”

Yuugi moved his hands just enough to stick his tongue out at both of them (whether they could see it or not wasn’t the point). Unfortunately it gave Seto enough room to grab his hand and lay back down on it so he couldn’t cover his face. Mortified, he huffed and tried to glare at him, but that just made it worse when he realized Seto was staring at him. 

a lazy soft smile on his lips, just staring at him. Despite how flustered he was, he couldn’t look away. He turned onto his side and shifted his pillow to lay closer to him, still trying to hide his face with it. Seto let his hand go, but only enough to turn so it was comfortable then laid back down on it. 

“Did- Um… Did I get sick or something?”

He couldn't read Seto’s expression, still staring at him with the same lazy, maybe tired smile. He didn’t answer at first, just looking him over then he sighed. “Something.”

“I don’t remember leaving Ivy’s.”

“Do you remember throwing up?”

“No. Is that what happened?”

“Do you remember me taking you outside?”

Yuugi frowned, trying to think. Thinking about it made his head hurt and Atem felt the same. “No.”

He partly nodded, refusing to move from off his hand. 

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Constantly making you sleep in the hospital. I know you hate it here.”

He huffed through his nose, still smiling. “The things I do for you.”

“Right?” Yuugi laughed quietly, then licked his dry lips. “I want to go home.”

He closed his eyes, a little surprised at how just saying that would make him come apart. Apparently Atem felt the same way, now it was amplified. The longer he had to think about how he was feeling, instead of where he was the worse he felt. His stomach hurt, he was tired and drained and to top it all off he felt so guilty for keeping Seto there; for keeping Atem there. He took a shaky breath, feeling Seto’s hand in his hair and a soft kiss on his forehead. “We’re going home tomorrow morning. I promise.”

“Okay.”

“Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up when the doctor comes in.”

Yuugi nodded, curling in the bed closer to him and feeling Atem do the same. He was tired. So very tired.

\---

Yuugi laid in bed at home finally. Being home he thought he’d feel a million times better than when he was in the hospital, but he didn’t. The only better he felt was Seto carrying him inside and Joey making a comment about it, making him laugh. That was it. That one beat of laughter and it didn’t last. If anything, he felt worse shortly after Seto let him go. He was still so tired. So tired, but unable to sleep, staring up at the stars on his ceiling with Atem, neither having the strength to do anything. Not even the strength to see the constellations he’d painted, just seeing blobs of glowing paint. He sighed, straining his eyes and his mind to focus when he heard the door open. Tea walked up to the side of the bed and knelt down brushing his hair behind his ear. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I really wanted to stay. I’m worried about you.”

“You don't need to do that, Tea. I'm fine.”

She smiled and laid her head on the pillow beside him. “I’m going to get everything together back home in Domino City then I'll be out again and this time I’ll bring my girlfriend. Promise.”

He nodded and smiled. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

Tea laughed. “You’ll love her. She’s been dying to meet you guys. I talk about you all the time. Serenity and Tristan already left with Carly. They wanted to see you, but we all thought it was best to let you sleep.”

He nodded, though he didn’t like that.

“Ryou and Joey are going to stay here and make sure you’re better. I’ll be keeping tabs on you guys okay? Please be careful, Yuugi, and tell Atem to be careful too.”

He laughed. “We’re fine, Tea.”

He saw tears well up in her eyes and she sniffled. “You’re not fine. Neither of you are fine. I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.” She sat up and kissed his forehead, squeezing his shoulder then got up. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

He nodded and watched her walk out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. He wanted to go to sleep. He was so tired, so hungry, but he was past the point of passing out and moved on to the insomnia part where all he wanted to do was stare off into space. He shifted uncomfortably on the bed when he heard Atem. 

‘How are you feeling?’

“Tired, but I can’t sleep.” He felt a hand brush across his cheek and smiled. “I’m fine, Atem. I don’t know why everyone keeps worrying about me.”

‘Because you mean existence to us, sunbeam.’

Yuugi giggled, looking up at the ceiling. “You’ve called me that since we ended up like this. Why?”

‘What do you mean?’

“You never called me that before, why are you calling me that now?”

Everything was quiet as he stared up at the ceiling. He could tell Atem was embarrassed by that question. Their feelings kept bleeding into each other, making feelings they shared so much stronger. It worked in their benefit for good things, like their love for his friends and for Seto, but it didn’t work so well when they were afraid or jealous and insecure. Interesting feelings from someone he thought for sure wasn’t insecure or afraid of anything, but he was. 

‘I’ve always called you sunlight, Yuugi. You just never heard it before.’

“Why call me that though?”

‘The first day you walked into the house was the most sunlight I’d ever seen and you were standing in it. The house was always cold and dark. The only sunlight was through a hole in the boards over the windows. Nothing had color or definition and nothing moved. But even when you walked out of it I still felt like I was looking at sunlight, all the warmth all the color.’

Yuugi smiled and closed his eyes. “That’s probably the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Atem laughed, and he felt the vibrations in his chest. ‘What’s the most romantic thing Kaiba’s ever said to you?’

Yuugi snickered and felt his cheeks heating up. “It sounds really bad out of context.”

‘That sounds like him.’

He laughed, "Yeah, pretty much. I'd have to explain the whole thing."

'...Well?'

Yuugi laughed again then sighed dramatically. "Alright alright." He took a deep breath, his smile fading. "After Mokuba died, we were supposed to get divorced. We just did it to keep up the rouse for him while he was alive. I know Seto told you about that." 

Atem hummed in agreement.

"He knew about Mokuba being sick a long time before I did. I thought he was working late all the time for a few months and didn't ask him about it, that happened a lot. Then I found out Mokuba was sick. We started getting into fights more and more because he was stressed and upset. It never clicked that was why until after the fact. When we broke up he told me he didn't feel the same for me anymore. He said the same thing again when he asked me to keep up the ruse and marry him for Mokuba. I agreed because I thought, stupidly, that I could change his mind. Well a week after Mokuba died, I think, he told me he'd didn't and never would love me and the next day I was sent divorce papers. I was supposed to sign them, but I was... taking my time with it I guess, hoping he'd change his mind. He never did, and after two weeks of getting harassed by the lawyer, I told him I sent them in. I didn't. I figured he'd call me to talk to me about it or yell at me, but I didn't hear from him for a really long time. I got worried and went to see him at the office. When I got there, I thought he was dead. Had him taken to the hospital. When he was feeling better-well that's not fair. When he woke up-"

Atem laughed, 'Impatient.'

"He scared me! He deserved it." Atem continued to laugh, he ignored him. "He did. I was so scared I was going to lose him and I never would've known. I may or may not have yelled at him the instant he woke up."

'I fully believe you did, sunbeam.'

He nodded. "Yeah I did. I yelled at him for a while. Then we talked about it. I told him I didn't send the papers in; I still loved him and I wanted to be there for him." He closed his eyes and smiled remembering it so vividly, one of the best and worst moments of his life all wrapped up into one. "The most romantic thing Seto's ever said to me was that he lied to me. He never stopped loving me. He was just so scared of losing me to something he couldn't control, like how he lost Mokuba, he wanted to make it happen on his own terms. He thought it would hurt less and he said it didn't."

'I can understand that,' Atem murmured, sadness laced into his voice. 'You're not someone easily lost.  Neither of you are.'

The sadness from his voice rang in his ears and poured into him from Atem making his eyes sting. “What’s wrong? I didn't mean to make you upset.”

‘No, you didn't make me upset. I'm just as worried at Kaiba is. Your being tired is scaring me." He brushed Yuugi's bangs behind his ear. "We can't stay like this.'

"Why not? I like being like this with you.”

Atem hummed, ‘I do as well, but… I think I'm taking the light from you.’

“No you’re-”

‘I am.' More sadness, enough to spill his unshed tears onto the pillow. 'Yuugi, this is killing you.’

He wanted to argue, but he felt like he knew that, somewhere in the back of his mind. He wanted to say he didn’t care, that he’d be fine with that end, but he couldn’t say that either. He couldn’t leave Seto alone. “Promise me you’ll stay.”

‘I wish I could.’

Yuugi relaxed feeling Atem brush his fingers through his hair and nuzzle into it. He wanted that exact moment to last forever. The only thing that could make it better would be if Seto was there too. He frowned, wondering where he was and why he wasn’t sleeping with him. Why hadn’t he come to check on him? Did anyone come to check on him? He thought about it, but he couldn’t remember. 

“Atem?”

‘Hmm?’

“Do you remember when anyone was in here last?”

Atem was silent, brushing his fingers through his hair then sighed, ‘No. I can’t.’

“Neither can I. Maybe I should go see what they’re doing.”

‘You need to sleep.’

“I can’t. I’m so tired, but I can’t.”

‘That’s alright. I’ll help you.’

He started to ask what he planned to do that was any more relaxing than playing with his hair, but his hands moved out of his hair, trailing gently down his face and neck over his chest continuing lower. His breath hitched in his throat. “Planning on wearing me out?”

Atem chuckled darkly, ‘Have a better idea?’

“No. No I don’t. I love everything about this idea.”

Atem laughed and kissed his neck.

\---

Ryou came over an hour or so after Tea left. Joey should be over any minute, but it was Joey. Who really knew? Ryou sat down in his office chair, looking up information on his computer. Kaiba had no idea what it was exactly, and let him go, staring down at Atem’s chessboard. He picked up a black knight, holding it in his palm as he looked over the board, then set it back where it was. Not the right move. There was a better one. He just wasn’t seeing it. 

“Okay it looks like she lives just outside of town by the graveyard.”

“That makes sense.” He scoffed sarcastically, picking up the black queen, “Where else would she be?”

Ryou giggled, clicking away at something. 

Kaiba’s attention returned to the chessboard and he set the queen down. He’d lose her. There was just no way Atem would let him keep her, but that was the point. That perfectly baited trap would win him the game, assuming he fell for it, and since he was just learning, he would. He reached for the queen to pick her back up, realizing that was unfair of him, but Ryou sighed, making him look up.

“Joey wants me to call him. if you want to check on Yuugi again, you can. Joey’s just going to tell me he’s ‘running late’.”

He nodded, pushing back the chair and scowling the queen still in the trap he’d set. He’d have to fix it later. Tearing his eyes away, he walked out of his office and turned the corner, but after a few steps down the hall, he paused. Looking back at his office door, he felt guilty for leaving the piece there. He did that trap to Mokuba once when they were little and he wanted to learn how to play. Mokuba was so mad at him for doing it, he refused to play another game of chess with him ever again. 

For years, he did not. 

Not until they started Kaiba Corporation together and it did well. He bought him a chess set as a gift and they had a lengthy discussion about that particular move, not just in chess but in how he did everything, but he played. Now he had 6 chess boards from Mokuba, one from Atem, and one from Yuugi. He stopped mid step and frowned, turning to the doorway of his office. Where’d the chess set from Yuugi go? He took a step back to the office, confused why Yuugi didn’t say anything about it being missing, but then again, he hadn’t touched any of them until recently. 

A low menacing growl behind him stopped him from taking another step. 

He slowly turned, glancing over his shoulder, but nothing was there; just the stairs leading up to their bedroom. His heart raced, walking over to Yuugi’s gaming room door and checking inside. Although the room was dark, nothing was inside it that could’ve made that sound. He flipped on the light anyway, daring anything to move. He heard it again.

A snarl.

A whimper.

All coming from the bedroom upstairs.

Although the hair on the back of his neck stood on end and something in the back of his mind told him something was wrong, he didn’t run upstairs. Maybe he’d gotten a little too used to the unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach or still held on to the idea of a ‘reasonable explanation’. Either way, he walked to the stairs, staring at the door as he ascended them. More growling and a soft sob. He pushed the door open, expecting to see it, but the room was exactly as it was the last time he checked on Yuugi. He hadn’t even shifted from his place on the bed.

That feeling in the pit of his stomach lingered. It may look empty, but it didn’t  _ feel _ empty. He walked around the bed, kneeling down to get a better look at Yuugi’s face and make sure he was still feeling alright. At first glance, he didn’t. His brows knit together, eyes screwed shut and lips thinly pressed into a pained frown. His hair covered up his cheek and nose, his face turned more into the pillow. Kaiba wondered if maybe he was having a bad dream and brushed his bangs behind his ear. 

Yuugi opened his eyes then, filled with pain, terror, and tears. “Seto?”

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

Yuugi trembled, holding his arms tight to his chest and sniffled, tears streaming onto his pillow. He whispered, voice hoarse like he’d screamed for hours, “Go… Something’s under the bed.”

He just stared at him, unsure what to do. He couldn’t leave Yuugi there, but his mind and body screamed at him to run. He fought it, fought the urge to do what Yuugi wanted, and insisted on seeing it for himself. Rocking back on the balls of his feet to look under the bed, Yuugi reached out and shoved his shoulder, pushing him off balance. “ _ Go _ .”

He fell back, glaring at Yuugi until he saw his arm. Blood dripped from three long gashes across his forearm onto the floor. It soaked his nightshirt and the bed under him. “Yuugi, you’re-”

“Go. Please. You need to go.”

He started to argue when he heard something growl, low and threatening, from under the bed. Yuugi froze, staring at him pale as the sheets. He shook; trembled and gripped the mattress so tight his knuckles were white, then mouthed, tears falling down his cheeks. “Go. Please.”

“I’m not leaving you here.”

The bed jolted, as it had a mind of its own; lunging for him to devour him. He leaned back, trying to get away while Yuugi whimpered and lay closer to it. Under the bed he saw shadows move as if it were alive and felt a huff of hot breath that wreaked of rotted flesh. He coughed and covered his face with his sleeve, trying not to gag. Kaiba was paralyzed, watching the bedskirt sway from it’s breath. The bedskirt waved and black claws slowly reached out from under it, digging into the carpet. The same clawed hand from the shadowed monster in the fog attacking Atem in his dream. He wasn’t dreaming now. It was real!

“Please,” Yuugi whispered. “Please go.”

It snarled and the bed jerked up again, making Kaiba scramble back as a clawed hand shot out towards him. It grabbed at his leg, digging it’s ink covered claws into the flesh of his calf. He could feel it. Feel the claws digging deep into his leg. He grit his teeth, a gut wrenching scream trapped in his throat.

“Kaiba!”

The lights flipped on and in an instant it was gone. No claws, no shadows, no hot breath. Nothing. He stared at his leg, just under the bed, and jerked back. Despite the room empty and full of light, not everything was back to normal. Blood smeared the carpet from his leg, holes torn in his pants revealing very real claw marks. 

Ryou dropped to his knees between him and Yuugi. “What’s going on? What happened?”

Yuugi cradled his arm, trying to push himself up. “Seto, you’re hurt.”

He just stared at him trying to get his mind to work. 

“Your arm!” Ryou blocked his view of Yuugi, making him look down at his leg again.

Blood coated his pants leg, three holes torn into it. On the floor beside Yuugi’s nightstand was one of their picture frames. He picked it up and looked at the picture, torn in three places over his image; just like his pants leg, just like Yuugi’s arm. He took a shaky breath and threw the picture to the side, not caring that the glass in it broke a little more when he did. He ran his hand through his hair, shifting to bring his knee up and rest his elbow on it. “Where’s Atem?”

Ryou moved to the side so Yuugi could look at him. He smiled and sniffled. “He’s here with me still.”

“Then what the fuck was that?!”

“I don’t know.” Yuugi shook his head, staring down at his arm. “I don’t know. I…” He let out a way-too-calm-for-the-situation breath and looked up at him. “I think it was me.”

Ryou’s eyes widened, glancing between them. “What are you talking about?”

Yuugi just shook his head, getting up out of bed and walking to the bedroom door. “I need a bandage.”

Ryou shifted on the bed facing him. He just stared at him, mouth agape, then gestured to the door and Kaiba’s leg with so much exasperation his hair fell into his face. “This-” he said, pushing it back- “is what I’m talking about. We need help.”

“Where? We can’t just run off to wherever the hell we want. Atem tried to kill someone with Yuugi’s body and now we can’t leave the town.”

“He what?!”

He got up, ignoring the pain in his leg in order to continue glaring at Ryou then the door. “I know we need help, but unless you have someone in mind. We’re screwed.”

Ryou scrunched up his nose. 

“He was fine yesterday. What the hell happened?”

“He wasn’t fine all week.” Ryou sighed. “I think we don’t have a choice. We need to talk to the Ishtar family.”

Kaiba just nodded, following Ryou out of the bedroom and listening to Yuugi in the kitchen. “Okay, I’ll make you pancakes.” He giggled. “They don’t taste like that, but it’s really sweet that you think that… Oh no. Now I'm worried you won’t like them… aww! Stop it you’re making me blush. Go away! I’m cooking.”

Ryou groaned and walked into the office. “Either he’s losing his mind or I am.”

“ _ We _ are.”

“I think this is why they invented gin.”

“I hope not.”

Ryou chuckled, walking over to his desk and sitting in his chair. He walked over to his bookcase where he knew he had a first aid kit and grabbed it. Walking over to the chair by the chess table, he sat down and looked at the cuts in his pants. Rolling up his pant leg, he winced. The cuts were pretty deep, aggravated, red and swollen, still oozing bright red. He muttered and opened the kit, getting out Neosporin.

“It doesn’t look like there are any mediums nearby.”

He glanced up at Ryou, then went back to fixing his leg; frowning at the cut as he dabbed Neosporin on it. He had no idea what that meant or what it had to do with anything. Glancing up at the door of the office, he heard more talking in the kitchen. Ryou leaned back, listening too. “Joey’s here.”

“Great,” he muttered, rolling his torn pant leg back down.

Ryou giggled and listened some more then smiled at him. “3-2-1”

The door of the office burst open, hitting the bookcase. “Watch what you’re doing Wheeler.”

Joey snickered and shut the door. “Sorry. Ya really got these doors oiled up good.”

He slowly turned to scowl at him, that was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. Joey seemed to think so too and looked away lifting his shoulders and shoving his hands in his pockets. “So uh what the hell happened ta Yuug’? He’s arms all wrapped up.” Then he looked at his pant leg. “And what happened ta ya?”

Ryou sighed and spun the office chair to face him. “It’s getting worse Joey. We need to get help.”

The door opened up again. Yuugi came in with a bright smile, covered in chocolate and a plate of pancakes. “Is anyone hungry? I can make some more.”

Joey chortled, shaking his head,“Ya gotta full plate there.”

“Oh,” Yuugi blushed, looking down at the pancakes. “these are for me.”

“You’re covered in chocolate.” 

Yuugi giggled, lifting his shoulders, still blushing, “Atem likes them.”

“I’m surprised this is the first time you made those for him,” Kaiba said, glancing down at his leg, debating on bandaging it up or waiting until Yuugi left.

Yuugi’s gasp made him look up. He was across the office and leaning over him in a blink. Where’d the plate go? Yuugi grabbed his hands and looked down at his leg, then blinked, standing up straight and eyeing his own arm. He unwrapped it and looked down at Kaiba’s leg then his arm. “When did this happen?”

Kaiba couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What are you talking about? You were the one who wrapped your own arm up.”

“I was cooking, Seto. I couldn’t-”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

Yuugi mumbled to himself then sighed. “I was sleeping, got hungry, and made Atem pancakes.” 

Yuugi knelt down and lifted his pant leg, his shoulders drooping as he looked between his arm and Kaiba’s leg. He mumbled under his breath again, then his voice changed, “I would remember… This doesn’t make sense.”

“Wait,” Ryou put his hand on his shoulder, looking down at both of their wounds. “You don’t remember either, Atem?”

“No.” He shook his head and looked up at Kaiba, surprising him with worried red eyes. “What happened? I can’t even guess what this came from.”

“Some-” He winced, from Atem touching his leg. “I don’t know what it was. Could’ve been an animal for all I know.”

“An animal with three claws?” Atem asked sarcastically then chewed the inside of his cheek. “Do you think I di-”

“No. I really don’t know what it was.”

“We’re going to talk to the Ishtars today, Atem.” Ryou offered squeezing his shoulder. “We’ll figure it out okay? Do you need help wrapping that up?”

Atem shook his head, staring at it with a strange frown. He had something he was thinking, but maybe he didn’t want to share it with Ryou and Joey. Maybe he didn’t want to share it at all, but if he knew something, Kaiba needed to know. “I’ll meet you outside Ryou.”

Ryou nodded hesitantly then walked away, pulling Joey with him. He waited until the door was shut, and heard the front door shut before he sighed, “I’m not blaming you.”

“You should. This is all my fault. I didn’t… I don't know how this…”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Both of you got hurt and I had no idea until you just now pointed it out.”

“Impressive,” he scoffed, gesturing to his leg. “This hurts like hell. How did you not know your arm hurt?”

He waved him off, digging through the first aid kt. “This is superficial. Your’s is deep. I think you need-” he lifted a packet of butterfly stitches and smirked at him- “this.”

“I don't need that. I just need-” He reached for the bandages, but Atem batted his hand away. 

“I know what I’m doing.”

He let him do whatever it was he wanted to do, figuring if worse came to worse he could redo it later. Not that he needed to. Seemed Atem remembered something from being a doctor. He had his leg fixed up in seconds, like he did it all the time, and Yuugi’s arm wrapped up perfectly in just another breath. Kaiba set his foot down and stood up on it, scrunching his nose from the pain, but it was better. He thought about going into the kitchen to get some pain medicine but Atem was ahead of him, taking his hand and leading him out of the office. 

He walked around the kitchen, getting a glass of water and the medicine for him. Then he handed it to him, sporting the strange frown he had from before. Kaiba took it, side eyeing him, expecting him to say something, but still surprised when he did.

“I wouldn’t do this to either of you.”

“I never said you did.”

“I feel like you should.”

“Why?”

“Who else could it be?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? Who or what could it be? Despite the limited possibilities, he knew it wasn’t Atem. He wasn’t that thing in the fog, or the thing talking to him at Ivy’s, and he definitely wasn’t the thing under the bed. He smiled, wiping some of the chocolate off of Atem’s cheek before cupping the side of his face. “I don’t make the rules and I’m not going to pretend like there are any.” 

Atem laughed, nuzzling into his hand, ”Yuugi said something similar.”

“There’s more to what’s going on. I’ll figure it out. I promise.” He kissed him, savoring the chocolate on his lips as well. “Do you want to come with us?”

Atem sighed, glancing to his left like he did when he was talking to Yuugi. Then he grinned, looking up at him. “We’ll stay here. Yuugi’s going to show me a trick to beat you at chess.”

“Oh he is, is he?” He smirked and kissed him on the forehead before turning away.

Atem hummed, following him through the kitchen to the living room doorway. “He says it’s how he beats you.”

He bristled, eyeing Atem’s amused smirk while he grabbed his coat and car keys from the table by the door. “If he actually teaches you that, maybe you can figure out how to beat him.”

Atem raised a brow, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning on the doorframe. “Now I really need to know it.”

He shook his head, opening the front door. He didn’t like leaving them there alone, not after what happened and especially since neither of them seemed to remember it, but he had to talk to that woman from the library. Things were getting worse and fast. If there was anyway to stop it, hopefully, she would know.

\---

“Are ya sure this is a good idea?”

Ryou rolled his eyes walking beside Joey up the salted sidewalk. “We need to know what’s going on.”

“Yeah, I get that, but I dunno ‘bout leavin’ Yuug’ and Atem there by themselves.”

“You told him where we were going, right?” Ryou glanced back at him over his shoulder.

Kaiba nodded.

“Yeah, sure, but it fuckin’ sounded like he got his arm torn the fuck up and had a full conversation with botha ya and don’t remember shit.”

“Yeah…” Ryou wrung his hands, staring at the old Victorian mansion they walked towards. 

It wasn’t anything lavish; so white it blended into the snow covering everything. All that could really be seen of it were the deep red curtains in the windows and a single candle set on the sill of each one. The glow lit up the near invisible house, making it feel like a home and not what it really was: a mortuary. He wished the snow covered the cemetery even half as well. For as much as the house blended in, the cemetery stuck out, shadowed and highlighted by the snow and dormant trees. The wrought iron fence surrounding it did little to hide it. The spikes of black stretching up against the blur of white reminded him of the claws that dug into his leg. He winced, suddenly feeling the sting from it again. “Let’s just get this over with.”

They walked up salted concrete stairs to the door. Ryou knocked and waited, fiddling with the zipper on his coat until it opened. A tall man answered the door, searched all of their faces, resting on his. “Mr. Kaiba. I was expecting you sooner, I'll admit,” he said, gesturing to the hallway. “My sister is in her office at the end of the hall. She’ll be pleased to see you.”

Joey started to comment, but Ryou elbowed him in the ribs. “Thank you.”

He followed Ryou and Joey down the hallway to the only office with a door open. The woman from the library sat at a large wooden desk that reminded him of his old desk from Kaiba Corporation; too big for the room, but he always felt it wasn’t big enough. Though this desk was also too big for the room, the wall of windows behind it served as an illusion of extension outlined in thick red drapes. Maybe in the summer the view would be acceptable, or even the spring, but now all he saw was the wrought iron fence and the graves shadowed in snow as far as the eye could see over rolling hills behind her. The view unnerved him, followed by the twinge in his leg again. Maybe it wasn’t the view that unnerved nearly as much as what happened that morning. 

“Mr. Kaiba,” she said plainly, though he heard genuine surprise laced in her voice giving him an excuse to look away from the windows. “I expected a call…”

“I don’t have time. This is urgent.”

“Our friend is… well-” Ryou scratched the back of his neck- “he’s sick.”

She blinked and sat up straight. “Sick? I’m hardly the person to-”

“Cut the crap,” Joey spat, “We know ya know something ‘bout that house and what’s in it.”

She tapped her pointer finger on the desk, stone faced and professional, just like in the library. “Is something wrong with the house? I heard you renovated it, Mr. Kaiba, perhaps someone didn't clear out the lead paint or asbestos as well as they should have.”

Kaiba grit his teeth. “He’s not sick from that.”

“Oh? Have you taken him to a doctor? Are you sure? Both ailments can cause hallucinations, mood disorders and personality shifts. It’s not uncommon. Either way, I’m not sure why you’d come here to discuss your friend's illness with me.”

Kaiba wanted to punch something. She’d already dismissed anything they could’ve said before they said it and that meant she  _ knew _ . She knew Atem was there! She knew Yuugi could get hurt and that in itself was cause enough to despise her. Her indifferent stance and gaze didn't help. It also led him to believe the card she’d offered them in the library had a lot more to do with what Yuugi thought than what he did. Or maybe she did just want to tear it down. 

“Your family owned the house for a long time, right?” Ryou prodded, but that just locked her up more.

She pursed her lips, seeming to think over her next words. “I can’t help you.”

“Of course you can’t,” Kaiba retorted, “I don’t need your ‘help’, I need an explanation.”

“I have none to offer you aside from faulty-”

“Drop it,” Joey spat. “Seriously. We don’t fuckin’ live there or stay there and we know somethin’s goin’ on. Ya can dodge it all ya fuckin’ want but it’s pretty fuckin’ obvious ya know. Just tell us so we can help Yuug’.”

She looked back at Kaiba, her eyes narrowed. “Yuugi is affected?”

“He’s not ‘affected’, he’s possessed,” Ryou said.

“That’s impossible. Yuugi’s-” She locked up again and shook her head, returning to her computer. “I can’t help you.”

“Please. Yuugi’s getting worse.”

“Nothing could possibly be wrong with Yuugi aside from what I'd just stated. Take him to the hospital.”

Kaiba balled his fists. “He’s already been there twice throwing up dirt. Still think it’s asbestos and lead?” 

That finally did something, though he had no idea why. Ishizu turned and addressed him, hands flat on her desk. “Are you trying to say your husband gave a demon permission to take over his body?” When none answered her, she laughed dryly. “Yuugi is the worst possible candidate for possession,” she turned to Ryou, locking eyes with him, “and  _ you  _ know that, don’t you?”

“I know, but-” 

She shook her head and looked away from them, pulling open a drawer in the desk. “The very idea is laughable.”

“He… he didn’t give him permission,” Ryou murmured, “did he?”

Kaiba had to think about it. Verbally, no. Yuugi was trying to stop Atem from hurting someone. Mentally, no as well. He doubted he’d be able to do that with how panicked he was over the situation (especially when Atem’s only desire was to kill someone), but deep down, Kaiba didn’t doubt for a second that Yuugi had already thought about it. He was pretty sure, from some of the conversations he’d had with Yuugi, that he’d considered it, if for no other reason, to give Atem a chance at experiencing life; trying the food he made, talking to their friends outside of the house, being able to feel them. He probably thought, since they were both fairly confident he wasn’t a ghost, that this was a possibility and if it happened, he’d be okay with it. Not a verbal or even a mental ‘sure let’s do this’ but an overall acceptance. 

His hesitation was answer enough. She blinked, dumbfounded. “He did…”

Kaiba ignored it. He couldn’t change the past. “What’s in that house?”

“A demon.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and grit his teeth, tired of that same answer over and over and over again. It wasn’t an answer. “What  _ else _ is in that house?”

She frowned and tilted her head. “Else?”

“There’s… something there. There’s someone else affecting Yuugi. He’s not the same.”

“A demon has possessed him,” she said, bringing her hands together in front of her to gesture to him like she was talking to a little kid, “It is the demon.”

Ryou jumped in front of him before he had a chance to lay into her. “What kind of demon? How did it get there?”

“Good questions.” She pulled out a leather bound book from her drawer and set it on the desk, flipping through the pages. “My forefathers sealed away and buried that demon in the cellar of the house before it was finished. It took the lives of an entire family and tried to escape to devour the rest of the town. The demon is a devouror of souls. It feeds on the despair, grief, regrets and guilt of a soul to sustain itself and give it power. Once it takes what the soul already has, it tortures them to feed it more until the body can no longer hold it and it moves to another.”

Ryou walked around the desk, looking over her shoulder at the book. “If it’s buried beneath the house, how would it get free?”

She looked up, meeting Kaiba's gaze. “Probably because someone extended the cellar.”

“It’s exactly the way it was when I bought it. Are you sure one of your idiot family members didn’t go digging around in there?”

That struck a nerve. She gripped the sides of the leather bound book until her knuckles paled, jaw locked and glaring daggers into him. “My family isn’t the one who awoke a demon and allowed it to possess them, Mr. Kaiba. Do you want my help or not?”

No, he did not want her help. This wasn’t any different than talking to Ryou. 

“It’s out,” Ryou said, leaning on the desk. “Doesn’t matter how. It’s out and it has our friend.”

“Yes.” Ishizu relaxed her grip slightly and looked down at the book. “Though a poor choice, considering it had better prospects.”

Kaiba grit his teeth and balled his fists.

“It would have to create the energy it needs to feed on and that takes energy itself. It is just existing.”

“That explains a lot,” Joey said, shrugging his shoulders with his hands stuffed into his pockets. “Yuug’s forgettin’ shit.”

“Yeah. Something bad happens, he forgets it.”

“Atem’s forgettin’ shit too though.”

“Atem?” she asked, forgetting her frustration.

Ryou looked up at them and gasped, “Atem’s not the demon.”

Ishizu stuttered her protest of Ryou taking her book and stared wide eyed trying to get her voice to work, “W-what are you talking about?” She bolted up from the desk and swept around it to Ryou, who was digging through his pockets for a folded piece of paper. She took it from him and scrunched up her nose. “Where did you get this?”

Ryou ignored her, talking instead to Kaiba, “Atem’s not a demon. Well, I mean, he is the demon, but he’s not. The reason it’s starting to show up now is because he can feed off of both of them with one action.” Ryou pointed to the old photograph and then the book. “He’s in the house with this thing. It’s still feeding on his soul.”

She rolled her eyes and dropped her hand holding the photograph to her side. “That’s impossible.”

“I know!” Ryou shrank back from the collective unamused glares he received and blushed, lifting his shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

Joey snickered and hit him square on the back. “It’s cool Ryou. We know ya don’t mean nothin’ by it.”

Ishizu walked around her office to the bookcase against the right wall. “If what you say is true, it’s getting stronger as we speak. The only way to save Yuugi now would be to kill the demon.”

“That sounds all well and good, but it ain’t just the demon.”

She shook her head, still searching the bookcase. “It doesn’t matter. That demon cannot be allowed to get stronger. It’s weak right now. We can send it back to hell where it belongs.” She pulled out a book from the bookcase, then reached into her pocket for her phone. 

“Whadda ‘bout Atem?”

She turned, locking eyes with Joey, then looking at all of them. “I’m sorry.”

That was unacceptable. “No. There has to be another way.”

Ishizu’s eyes widened and she laughed, holding her phone to her chest. “You can’t be serious.”

“This was an accident. The entire thing. I don't want Atem hurt.”

She slowly walked up to him, brows knit together and a disbelieving smile on her lips. “You are serious.”

“This isn’t some sinister plot by a demon, it’s an accident between two over emotional idiots. I just want them separated. It’ll all go back to how it was before, right? Like you just said, it can’t feed off of just Atem.”

Her voice was low and soft almost like she pitied him and it sent rage boiling through his veins. “That _ thing _ is no friend of yours. I’m unsure what it’s done or said to bewitch you all like this, but you must understand, all it wants… it already has. The only way to save _ your _ husband is to kill it. The spirit that it fed on is long gone. It’s just a husk animated by the demon to get what it wanted.”

He glared at her and spun on his heel, walking back out where they came from, Joey shouting after him. Not that he heard a damn word he said. Like hell was he letting her get anywhere near Yuugi or Atem. She didn’t understand, he felt like Ryou didn’t understand and as much as Joey wasn’t arguing (for once in his damn life) he didn’t understand either. He just wanted to separate them. He didn't want to hurt Atem and neither did Yuugi. And that wasn’t because of some supernatural influence despite everyone giving him that same damn sympathetic/pitiful look as if to say ‘you poor duped idiot’. It wasn’t like that. 

They didn’t see how he was. They didn’t see him laughing with Yuugi rolling around under the bed trying to play keep away with the Magician doll, they didn’t see how gentle he was carrying Topper around the house or how touch starved and lonely he was, hovering, seen or unseen, in every room they were in, making sure to touch them periodically throughout the day, not as if he needed to make himself known, but needed the reassurance that THEY were still there. It could’ve all been an act, something he’d worried about, but if it was, he’d have no reason to continue it. He was still himself. 

He stomped out the front door headed to the car, cursing the snow starting to fall as he rounded the side of it. He opened the door and sat down, slamming it behind him and punched the steering wheel. There had to be another option. He kept thinking, trying to figure out where to go or what to do when he heard the passenger door open. He waited for the other door to open as well but it didn’t. Glancing over, he saw Joey sit in the seat beside him and shut the door, exhaling loudly, not looking at him. 

He expected him to start barking about something, but he didn’t and the silence grated on his nerves. He should’ve stayed in there with Ryou if he was going to just sit there. Then he shifted, running his hand through his hair. “I uh… I get how ya both feel ‘bout Atem and all.”

Kaiba closed his eyes, locking his jaw and gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white, getting ready to give him a good piece of his mind about how he didn't understand anything.

“And I think she’s wrong and I think Ryou’s wrong too. It’s fuckin’... it’s complicated, is what it is. And it’s real shitty.”

That’s a word for it. “There’s another way and I’ll figure it out.”

Joey chortled and nodded. 

Kaiba glared at him. “I’m surprised you're not insisting just as much as they are.”

He shrugged his shoulders and stared down at the floor of the car. “Yeah I was gonna. Had a good long thing goin’ ‘bout how you’re a piece of shit for not takin’ Yuug’s side and just gettin’ it over with so he’s better- cause that’s what ya should be doin’.” He laughed again and shook his head. “Hell, Atem’s already fuckin’ dead. What difference does it make, right?”

It made a world of difference, but he had a hard time putting that into words. 

“At the enda the day though, I ain’t already lost someone who I thought was always gonna be there. I got no idea what that’s like and I hope I never fuckin’ do. You’re right back in it. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy and you’re the closest I got ta that.”

Kaiba humped but felt the corners of his lips curl.

“So let’s terrorize fuckin’ everyone till someone comes up with somethin’, sounds like a plan ta me, but I want ya ta know, if it comes right down ta it, I’m here ta help my best friend and I don’t care if ya both hate me or not, I’m makin’ damn sure we help Yuug’.”

He looked over, intending to say he wouldn’t let anything happen to Yuugi, but Ryou caught his attention; walking around the car and opening up the back door. He shuffled into the back seat and slammed the door shut, sighing and murmuring something he didn't catch under his breath. Kaiba watched him in the rearview mirror throw his head back on the back seat.

Joey snickered and turned back to face him. “Have fun?”

“No. No that was awful. She said we need to kill the demon and I tried looking through her books on how to just separate them, it’s not possible. It’s an all or nothing thing.”

“So she says.”

“So all her books say. She’s a Demonologist. I’ve never actually met someone like that before, but she does know what she’s talking about.”

“Again, so she says.” Joey clicked his tongue and laughed. “I dunno ‘bout ya guys, but somethin’ ain’t addin’ up ‘bout all that.”

“No. it’s not.” Kaiba muttered and started the car. 

Not a second later, the front door opened and Ishizu ran out, wrapping her bright red woolen coat tighter around her waist. He glared at her, jogging through the snow down the sidewalk towards their car. Apparently walking out wasn’t a clear enough ‘I don’t fucking want your help’. She slowed when she got closer to the car, walking up to the drivers side window and knocking on it with a gloved hand. At least he could tell her to go to hell this way. He rolled down the window, but she started talking before he could. “I know I cannot change your mind on this-”

“No you can’t.”

She sighed through her nose and locked her jaw. “Please, at least let me explain why this must be done.”

“What? There’s more?” Joey asked, leaning in front of him.

He rolled his eyes, shoving him back. “There’s always more.”

She hummed in agreement, then pointed to a red sedan further down the road. “That’s my car. I’ll lead the way.”

He frowned, watching her stand up straight and jog down the sidewalk to her car. He expected a chorus of opinions on that, but all he got were stares. He rolled his eyes again, rolled up the window, and put the car in gear. Fine. Why not see what the crazy woman had to say? Though he regretted that when her tail lights came on and she began to drive up the road going into the cemetery. Maybe he should’ve stayed in the office and told her off. 

He had no idea where they were headed, and equally had no idea how they were going to get out of the maze that was this cemetery. Suddenly, she turned to the left, driving through a smaller one lane road, not paved like the rest. He gripped the steering wheel staring out at the dead trees and falling snow. It reminded him of the fog. Ishizu pulled off and parked the car, leaving it running as she opened her door. Kaiba did the same, telling Ryou and Joey to stay put. He was anxious to get this over with and get home. They just slowed things down.

She walked around the back of her car, meeting him halfway and then gestured to a small graveyard nestled in a clearing amongst the dead trees. “This is the town’s original graveyard, and here-” she said, walking towards a set of graves with the same last names written on them in a row- “are the graves of the family you think the spirit belongs to.”

He decided to let the ‘think’ jab at him go and walked up to the row of stones. A father, mother, their three children, all buried side by side, dates of birth and death etched into them. Daughter first, mother and both sons second, then the father some years later. Much like Ivy had said.

“According to writings and stories passed down from my family, a leper came through the town seeking aid. My family believed him to be possessed by a demon and had him thrown out of town. A doctor thought that ill of them and his family took him in. When the demon had used up all that it could from the man, it possessed one of the brothers as leverage to get to the one it really wanted and then made him kill his family. My ancestors came to the family’s aid at the request of the father and were able to banish the demon from the son, but he died shortly after.”

“That’s closer to the reality,” he muttered to himself.

“You think I’m lying to you?”

“I think no one knows what really happened, and the ones who might are dead.”

Ishizu sighed and walked up to the graves to stand at his side. “I have to admit, this conversation went very different than I had imagined it.” He glanced at her soft smile at the graves. “I thought you and your husband would come running into my office begging me to buy it off you. I never thought I’d have you storm in demanding to save them both from, as you said, an emotionally charged accident.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“My brother has kept in contact with me about the incident in your Bed and Breakfast. He says Yuugi is possessed and tried to kill one of your patrons.”

“... Technically... It’s complicated.”

“I’m anxious to know the reality and, as luck would have it, you're alive,” she said grinning when he turned to face her. “So tell me, why are you trying so hard to save a demon?”

“He’s not a demon. Even if he was, he sucks at it.”

Ishizu snickered, but still looked very confused.

“He doesn’t remember who he is, hasn’t done a single thing to hurt either of us and he’s had plenty of opportunities. He’s just as confused as Yuugi is.” Kaiba took a deep breath looking back down at the graves. “He’s just as scared as Yuugi is.”

“Yet he tried to kill someone.”

“He deserved it.”

Ishizu didn’t respond, and the snow started to clump together; flurries the size of his dress shirt buttons now. He glanced back at the car, seeing Joey and Ryou in a discussion about something, probably Yuugi. He needed to get back home and check on him. He didn’t know if he could stomach the idea of that thing going after him again. 

“How did Yuugi become possessed?”

He wrinkled his nose and shoved his hands in his coat pockets. “The guy killed Atem’s friend. He tried to kill him. Yuugi tried to stop him. It just… happened.”

“The patron said Yuugi tried to kill him.”

“He did after Atem took over.”

He watched her nod once then look at her car. “I regret that there are no other options I can give you. We have to kill the demon before it gets free and takes Yuugi with it. If what you say is true, that spirit might be the only thing keeping Yuugi from becoming like the leper that started this whole thing.” She started to walk to her car and waved back to him. “Let me know if you change your mind, Mr. Kaiba.”

He glanced down at his phone to make sure he had service and a way to get out of the labyrinth that was the cemetery, when he saw he did, he ignored her and turned to look back at the graves kneeling down to see them better. He brushed some of the snow off of the one closest to the parents graves and sighed through his nose. His fingers traced the M. “Marie.”


	12. Chapter Eleven

Pulling into the drive, he noticed a car that shouldn’t be there. Before he could say anything, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Ryou leaned forward between him and Joey murmuring, “Isn’t that Tea’s car?”

“Yeah.” Joey squinted, leaning forward in his seat. “Huh. Thought she left a while ago.”

They parked the car and got out. Ryou and Joey stared at it. As curious as he was, he was more concerned about Yuugi, and walked right past them to the door. He walked inside, noting the lights almost all on, and he knew they didn’t leave it like that. Walking through the house to the bedroom, he heard Joey and Ryou talking about where they could be. He already had a good idea where she was and opening the bedroom door solidified it. 

Tea sat on the bed with Yuugi fast asleep on her lap. His eyes and his fingertips looked exactly like Atem’s, as if dyed with black ink. Tea sniffled and quickly wiped at her face. “I’m sorry. I know I said I was going to leave, but… I just couldn’t leave him like this.”

Joey walked around him and snickered. “Anythin’ fun happen while we were gone?”

Tea leaned her head back on the head board and blew out her cheeks. “Yes and I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well you’re still here so it couldn’t be that bad.”

“He got up a while ago and was acting fine. I was talking to him and everything was great then all of a sudden he just... “ She shook her head and looked down at him on her lap. “He threw up dirt and blood. I tried to get him to go to the hospital, but he kept saying he was fine and would not leave for anything.”

“Dirt?” Joey looked back at him. “Like before?”

Kaiba glanced back down the stairs, through the hallway that led to the kitchen. He couldn’t see the basement door, but he narrowed his eyes anyway. The dirt. It was important. Ishizu said they sealed the demon away beneath the house. Atem brought him to the root cellar of the basement. Even after covering it, it remained as it was the first day he saw it; open. He didn't think anything of it before, as strange as that was. He was definitely connecting the dots now and it led him down a train of thought that chilled him to the bone. What if all of them were wrong? What if it wasn’t a root cellar? What if it wasn’t the resting place of a sealed demon?

Ryou stepped in his line of sight and frowned. “What are you thinking?”

He turned back to Tea. “Keep an eye on him.”

“O-okay… Where are you going?”

“The basement.”

He turned and walked down the stairs, Joey dashing behind him. “Hey wait. Why we goin’ there?”

He didn’t answer, glancing back at Yuugi until he was at the bottom of the stairs. He kept walking down the hall into the kitchen, turning to the basement door. “Ryou.”

“Yeah?”

“There are shovels and a tool box over in the B&B. Ask Marla to help you get them.”

“Why?” He then blinked, eyes wide. “Oh! Isn’t it solid down there?”

“No.”

Ryou nodded, turning to walk to the front door. Joey hesitated, probably trying to decide which of them to follow, deciding finally to follow him. Kaiba flipped on the basement lights as he descended the stairs, but still took his phone out of his pocket and turned the flashlight on. The lights did little to illuminate anything except cobwebs. Walking over to the root cellar, he heard Joey swear behind him. “Shit! Ya weren’t jokin’... It kinda does look like someone was diggin’ down here.”

“I know.”

“So what's the plan? Ya just gonna dig in there and hope somethin’s there?”

“I’m confident something’s there,” he said, ducking down to walk into the dirt room. 

Joey ducked down too, holding onto the wall. “So ya gonna dig up the thing that sealed the demon here?”

“Yes.”

“Won’t that make shit worse?”

He looked back at him and knelt down. “It might, but it’s probably the closest we’ll get to a straight answer.”

Joey pursed his lips and sighed through his nose. “Yeah, but this might be one a those things ya don’t wanna know more ‘bout.”

“We’ve passed that point.”

Joey snickered, then both of them looked up at the creaking staircase. Ryou came down with a large shovel, two small shovels and the tool box. When he got to the base, he looked around then saw them. He smiled, then gasped, looking at the large opening in the concrete and stacks of bricks lining it. “Wow…”

“Come on Ryou-” Joey waved at him grinning ear to ear “-We’re gonna dig up a demon sealy thing.”

Ryou laughed and walked over, setting the shovel up against the wall and the rest of the things in his arms on the ground. “We’re digging up the seal?” He smiled, his eyes shimmering in the flashlight. “What do you think it is?”

“You’d know more than I do.”

Kaiba grabbed the shovel and moved to the center of the root cellar, hoping he was just paranoid and nothing was there. He hesitated, adjusting his grip on the shovel (already feeling the ache in his arm) and dug into the soft dirt. The sound of metal sliding into the soft dirt was too loud and chilling. He hoped that was his paranoia too.

He didn’t know what was down there. Even banked on it NOT being what he thought it was. He saw the graves, stones aged at the same rate, even the father’s. Ishizu said Atem died after they sealed up the demon. If that was the case, there was a really good chance that would happen to Yuugi. Either way they’d lose. 

But the dirt. 

There had to be a reason Yuugi kept throwing up dirt and if Ryou and Ishzu were right about the demon poking and prodding them for their fears and guilt, that dirt had a meaning. The things Yuugi said at the dinner had a meaning. The marks on his leg and Yuugi’s arm had a meaning. Maybe it went further than that, more twisted and elaborate than at first glance. What if the house had a meaning, the boarded up windows and thick forests surrounding the house blocking the sun and the stars? The dirt had a meaning, he was sure of it. 

He dug through, tossing the dirt off to the side when the shovel hit something hard. 

“...Kaiba.”

He jumped back and dropped the shovel; Joey and Ryou jumped too. 

“Damn it, Yuug’. Don’t scare us like that!”

His heart raced as he exhaled a shaky breath. Tea stood on the bottom step with Yuugi not far from her. Ryou shined his flashlight on him and he held his hand up to block it, but Kaiba saw his eyes. Atem. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare any of you.”

What part of ‘watch him’ did she not get? Millions of bad things could happen. Him being there could make those a trillion. Tea laughed, but it sounded forced. “What are you guys doing?”

“Figurin’ shit out.”

Kaiba walked over to where the dirt met concrete and leaned outside it. “You need to go back upstairs.”

Tea reached out for him and smiled. “Come on. I can make us some tea.”

Atem didn’t move, staring at him. He didn’t say anything and he didn’t need to. Kaiba could clearly see what he was thinking. He nervously fiddled with the hem of Yuugi’s shirt, his jaw tight from words he wanted to say that wouldn’t come out. All the guilt and worry in his black eyes and creased forehead. Atem didn’t want him to know what was there, didn’t want to know himself.

“Trust me, Atem, You need to go upstairs.”

He tilted his head then turned to the stairs, hesitantly walking back up. Tea watched him then looked back. “Let me know if you guys need anything, okay?”

“We got this Tea, but we could use somethin’ ta eat if you’re bored.”

Tea groaned and stomped up the stairs. Kaiba watched her disappear upstairs until he noticed movement in the dirt room. Ryou crawled to the spot that Kaiba dug out and swept some of it away. Taking a short breath, he knocked on it. The sound was off, just like the shovel digging into the dirt. Too loud. He sighed and looked up at them. “Are we all thinking this is a coffin, or is it just me?”

Joey shrugged, his stupid grin plastered to his face. “Could be a box.”

Kaiba humphed and moved back to Ryou’s side, helping him dig out the rest of it. It took them a while to get it uncovered enough to really see what it was. It wasn’t a box. It was a coffin. He set the shovel off to the side and grabbed the tool box, opening it up to get out a crowbar. When he went back to it to open it, he noticed Ryou, looking it over. “It has writing all over it.”

“What's it say?”

“I have no idea.”

“What good are ya?” Joey laughed, nudging his shoulder. 

“Hey! I’m working on it. It looks like the symbols in Ishizu’s book though.”

“Yeah, it kinda does.”

He knelt down ready to shove the crow bar into the lid when Ryou grabbed his arm. “Wait.”

“What?”

“Are you sure we want to open it?”

Joey answered for him. “The demon’s kinda already out.”

“Maybe. We don’t know. We’re getting a lot of unreliable information.”

“So what're ya sayin’? If we open it, it could let out somethin’ worse than what’s already goin’ on?”

“Well… yeah, but that’s not... “ Ryou squeezed Kaiba’s arm gently and let him go, sitting back on his heels. “If this is a… I know why you wanted him to go upstairs, but are you sure  _ you _ want to be down here?”

Kaiba was so taken aback that he even asked that, he didn’t answer immediately. Would he be able to handle it if this was what he thought it was? Ryou thought it was too and somehow that made it more real and harder to swallow. If this was Atem’s actual grave, could he stomach it? Soft footsteps upstairs made him look up and listen to Tea and Atem talking about Yuugi. He couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but he got a few words. ‘Worried’ ‘tired’ ‘didn’t remember’. 

He nodded to Ryou. Whether he wanted to see this or not didn’t matter. He had to know what was going on for all of their safety. Joey moved to his side, using a shovel to lodge into the side of the lid. Between the two of them, they were able to open it. 

The wooden coffin was filled with dirt.

“Okay…”

“Why’d they bury a box of dirt?”

“Why would a box full of dirt sound hollow?” Ryou whispered.

Kaiba grabbed the hand shovel and dug around the side of it, Ryou and Joey just watching him. He got about 6 inches down when the box side showed cracks and splits. 3 inches further and he found what he dreaded. Ryou leaned into his view, pointing the flashlight down. They all just stared at it in silence. Kaiba’s mind reeled.

“Fuck.”

“I think... I think this is his leg.” Ryou shifted, grabbing a smaller shovel and dug a line from the coffin to the edge of the concrete. 

Kaiba helped him, at least until he saw what Ryou was getting at and couldn’t bring himself to move anymore. Ryou kept working, dusting off and outlining a skeleton, Atem’s skeleton, half in the coffin and half out with a hand pressed against the concrete slab. No one said anything. Both of them had to be thinking the same as him. They couldn’t kill him, couldn’t get rid of the demon, so they buried him alive, hoping it would starve it and it would die. One life for the hundreds in the town. They buried him under the house, encased in the foundation so even if it somehow managed to get free, it would be stopped. 

He doubted, looking down at the skeleton, that the demon did much of anything in relation to this. It probably left Atem to deal with it on his own, the panic, terror and grief. He probably felt everything, choking on dirt and trying to get free only to find... he was trapped. He couldn’t think of much that would be as horrific as this had to be, just waiting to die. 

“It… it could’ve been the demon,” Ryou murmured.

“If it could get dead people, they wouldn'ta buried him.”

“So...” Ryou whispered, “When they said ‘sealed’ they meant trapped.”

Joey shook his head, staring down at the skeleton with the back of his hand pressed to his lips. “So they what? Fuckin’ buried him alive? Is that what she’s gonna do ta Yuug?” He looked up at them. “We can’t let ‘m do that ta Yuug'. We need ta get him outta here.”

Ryou frowned. “We can’t do that either, Joey. What if it moves to someone else?”

“Then that’s their fuckin’ problem.”

“Joey!”

“What?”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I’mma tell ya the same thing I told him: bottom line is savin’ Yuug’, 

Ryou leaned forward glaring at him. “Oh really? So you’d be okay with that thing getting a hold of Carly?”

“That ain’t gonna-”

“It could. It feeds on your soul, eating up your memories. What's to say  _ it _ doesn’t remember?”

“So what are ya sayin’? We can’t do fuckin’ anythin’?”

Ryou sighed and sat back. Joey cursed under his breath, climbing out of the dirt room and stomping through the basement. “Fuck!”

Kaiba watched him jog up the stairs, slamming the door behind him. When he turned back to Ryou, he was just staring down at the dirt. He ignored the murmured but loud conversation Joey had with Tea upstairs, wondering why Ryou was still there. It seemed he’d already given up on this. 

Ryou tilted his head, examining the ground and uncovered skeleton with a curious frown. “If… if Atem was possessed by the demon and it ate up his soul, I don’t think you’d recognize him.”

Kaiba frowned at him. “What?”

“Ishizu said he was just a husk of a soul animated by the demon.” He redirected the flashlight to the coffin filled with dirt instead of.... “I think they buried him alive to starve the demon. I’m not sure if she knew that or not, but that’s what makes sense.”

“It’s been over a century.”

“Yes, it has and even with all that time, it didn’t starve it. It just forced it to-to ration him out. It doesn’t need to do that now, but…” He looked up and sighed. “I just keep thinking about the arcade and the hospital. It could’ve jumped to Carly or me or any of us. Atem easily switched places with Yuugi and relayed anything we’d say to either of them as if they took up the same space. Demons don’t do that. Something else is trapping it in Yuugi and up until now, it’s like it didn’t exist.”

“Maybe the ones around it aren’t what it wants.”

Ryou nodded. “Which means it already has what it wants.”

“...”

He took a deep breath, shaking his head and looking back down at the coffin. “Okay… okay. I’m going to call anyone I can get a hold of to come out here. I’m not giving up on him. Someone has to know something.”

The door to the basement swung open hitting the wall, silencing any attempt at thanking him. “Uhh, Kaiba?”

He leaned forward to see the staircase, frowning. “What wheeler? We’re coming up in a minute.”

“Yeah so uhh… are ya expectin’ anyone?” 

He climbed out of the dirt room with Ryou right behind him and ran for the stairs. “No.”

“Ivy!”

“Damn kid. You look like someone shot you in the face with a paintball gun.”

Kaiba rounded the doorway. Ivy and Joey’s father stood in the living room while Yuugi laughed and nodded, giving her a weak hug. “I feel like it too.”

“Where’s the grump?” She looked around and when she saw Kaiba, she grinned. “How’d it go?”

“They can’t help.”

Her grin widened. “I figured as much. So I called my sis in Naptian. We did our homework and-” she sighed and smiled at Yuugi- “we can help.”

Yuugi lit up. “You can- you can separate us? And not hurt Atem?”

“Sure can. It’s going to be a little tricky and probably so traumatic we’ll all need years of therapy, but yes. We can.”

Joey bolted for her and wrapped his arms around her. “Ivy you’re the fuckin’ best!”

She laughed and patted him hard on the back. “Course I am.” Taking a step back, she tapped Yuugi’s shoulder and waved for him to follow her. “But we have to go now. If you talked to Miss Priss then we only have so long before she sends her brother here to ‘convince’ you to come quietly.”

Joey’s father smiled at him. “Don’t worry about the B&B. I’ll stay here and help Marla.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded and turned, walking to the front door. Ivy glanced back at him, then pulled on Yuugi’s arm again. “Come on kid. I wasn’t joking. News travels fast in small towns.”

Tea hugged Yuugi tight and kissed his head, then glared at him. “Call me when everything’s over. I’ll stay here till you guys get back. We all can’t fit in one car.”

“We’ll call. We promise,” Ryou said, walking up to Yuugi and wrapping his arm around his shoulder, following Ivy out of the house. 

He followed them, watching Ryou help Yuugi into the car and get in the back beside him. Joey rounded the other side and got in the back, leaving the passenger side for him. He’d rather drive, but Ivy was doing them a favor and it gave him the opportunity to check on Yuugi more. He climbed in and shut the door, reaching for his seat belt while Ivy started the car. 

“So she wouldn't help ya, huh?”

“Oh she’d help. We just don’t want her help,” Joey muttered.

She nodded and put the car in gear. Kaiba stopped paying attention to her and turned in his seat to look at Yuugi, leaned against Joey’s shoulder with his eyes closed. Miserable and peaceful; a terrible combination in the dark car. It reminded him of Mokuba the night before he died, laying in bed trying to stay awake, but he couldn’t. He ended up falling asleep mid sentence, telling him he didn’t feel well. He felt just like he did then, hoping for some kind of miracle and having very little faith in it. He just couldn’t lose them too.

He kept his eyes on Yuugi while Ivy drove through windy back roads avoiding the highway. He didn’t know how long they were driving before someone talked again. Ivy sighed, and he looked at her. “That’s the town line. County line’s just up-” She leaned forward and squinted. “Shit.”

He turned, glancing out the windshield and through the thick falling snow, seeing red and blue lights up ahead. “Can we turn around?”

She glanced up at the rearview mirror and shook her head, laying back in the seat. “Nope.”

He spun in the seat, eyes wide. Red and blue flashes followed them, growing closer by the second. “This is underestimating, ‘news travels fast’.”

She nodded her head dramatically, glancing between the roadblock ahead and the cop car racing towards them from behind. “What’d they want to do?”

“What they did last time.”

“And?”

Kaiba met her gaze, then glanced at Yuugi asleep in the back seat. “They buried Atem alive.”

She did a double-take, shooting him a ‘you have to be kidding me’ look, and he smirked. His sentiments exactly. “This beauty will handle some snow on the road, but it won’t handle off-roading in a blizzard. What do you want to do?”

He had no idea. Just when they finally had some good news… “We can’t avoid them. It’s best to just deal with them.”

“Sure thing.”

He ignored the approaching lights, focused on the barricade in front of them as Ivy slowed the car to a stop and an officer approached them. She rolled her window down, snow falling into the car as he leaned down to flash a light inside. “Hey Ivy. What are you out this way?”

“Thought I’d go for a snowy drive. Best time to be out.”

He laughed and leaned on the car door, flashing the light into the back seat and waking them up. He adjusted his stance, looking behind them at the approaching cop car. “Were you racing through the snow?”

“In this? You’re joking right?”

“Of course I am. Surprised you aren’t out here in your Chavar doing donuts.”

“This guy’s a killjoy,” she said, gesturing to Kaiba and he frowned at her.

The officer leaned down to see him then sat back up. “A tree’s down over the road up ahead, which is why we’re turning people around.” He leaned away from the door as the other cop car pulled up behind them. “Ooo… What’d you do this time Ivy?”

She didn’t answer him, side eyeing Kaiba while the door of the other car opened and the snow crunched under the feet of the approaching officer. He didn’t see his face right away but he knew it was Marik. The officer leaned back and Marik replaced him, resting his elbows on the open window. Joey groaned, “Not you again.”

He flashed the light he had into the back seat waking up Yuugi, then switched it off, standing up right. “Everyone out of the car.” 

“Come on Marik. We’re going home, the road’s blocked anyway.”

“It’s not about that Ivy.”

Everyone opened the doors and got out. He wondered what Marik meant by that and unfortunately got his answer pretty fast. Marik grabbed Yuugi’s arm and spun him around, pressing him into the car and cuffing his wrists. “Yuugi Kaiba you are under arrest for the murder of Stan Davis.”

Ryou gasped, “What?!”

“He couldn’ta fuckin’ murdered anyone, Marik. Quit bein' a fuckin’ dick.”

Kaiba bolted around the car to get to them, but the other officer put his hand on his chest stopping him. He glared at him, then turned his fury on Marik. “He was with our friend at home the entire time. He has an alibi.”

Marik looked up at him and pulled Yuugi with him towards his car. “Then I suggest you call your friend and bring them to the station.”

The snow muted Marik as he read him his rights, taking him to the car. He didn't hear Yuugi, didn’t hear a peep of protest or a word to set his mind at ease. He wondered if it wasn’t Yuugi being taken to the car. He also wondered if Marik was bluffing… or not.

  
\---

Kaiba sat with Joey and Ryou in a small plain waiting area while Ivy picked up Tea. The police station might as well have been a shed compared to the one in Domino City, just like he expected from the small town. Devoid of colors, just varying shades of grey on the walls, ceiling, counter and plastic chairs, it held the air of sterile discomfort. Joey’s twitching didn’t help that. 

He fiddled with the bandage on his arm, staring intently out the glass double doors to the parking lot. By this point it really was a blizzard out there. He could barely make out the street lights through the glass. They should be there by now, if it wasn’t snowing like that. He was starting to wonder if they were stuck somewhere. Reaching for his phone with the intent to call and check on them, he saw a car pull into the snow covered parking lot. He stood up, walking to the door and opened it, taking a step out into the snow. The car doors opened in unison, but Tea was out first, darting through the snow with her arms wrapped tight around herself. She bolted through the parking lot and he stepped aside to let her in. 

She flashed him an appreciative smile, then her entire body language changed. Holding her head high with a scowl that would rival his, she stormed up to the front desk. “Hey!” The officer attending the desk looked up and blinked, but he didn’t get a word in before she carried on, “Who do I need to talk to about proving you got the wrong guy? Some police work you do! He’s clearly ill!”

Marik stepped out a set of dark gray doors just to the right of the desk and gestured for her to follow him. “I’ll take your statement Ms. Gardner.”

She was thrown off by that, but only for a split second. “I want to see Yuugi first!”

He snickered and nodded, gesturing for her to lead the way. “Certainly.”

Kaiba narrowed his eyes when Marik flashed him a grin before disappearing behind Tea through the grey door. Ivy trudged inside, patting the show off of her coat. “It’s getting bad out there.”

He grunted, letting the door swing closed behind them. “We’ll go home when this is finished.”

“Hmm yeah. Even if we wanted to leave, we couldn’t in this weather.”

He sat down in the same uncomfortable plastic chair, Ivy taking the one across from him. He continued to sit, listening to the clock loudly tick away on the wall and glaring at the dark grey door until it opened. He expected Tea to walk through with Yuugi right behind her, but he didn’t have that kind of luck. Marik held the door open and nodded towards the hallway. Frowning, he stood and walked through the waiting room to meet him. “What is it now?”

Marik didn’t say a word, smirking. 

Kaiba wished he could knock that smirk right off his face. 

He led him through the doors down a hall and into a room with a window into the interrogation room. He saw Tea on the other side, sitting at a plain white table, talking to an officer and giving her statement. He could hear her too. Marik stood at the window watching for a moment then turned to him. “So you were trying to get him out of town?”

“No.”

He laughed and shook his head. “This is off the record.”

“That doesn’t apply to officers that I’ve heard of.”

Marik laughed.

“If you wanted to be a thorn in my side you could’ve just got a warrant and came to the house. Why make up a murder charge?”

“I didn’t.”

He quirked a brow, searching Marik’s face and body language for any sign he was lying. There… was none. “Yuugi didn’t kill anyone.”

He didn’t react, still watching the conversation in the other room. “We got the call a few hours ago from Mr. Davis’s girlfriend. Strangled to death in their hotel room in town.”

“What makes you think it was Yuugi?”

Marik turned completely. “Witness ID’d him leaving the scene.”

He narrowed his eyes. “That’s a hell of a stretch.”

“It is, isn’t it? Could you imagine him strangling a man twice his size, especially in the weakened state he’s in right now?” Marik snorted and shook his head. “His girlfriend really should’ve tried to pin it on someone more believable.”

“Then why is he here?”

“You know why.” Marik crossed his arms over his chest. “So, I take it you found out what it takes to get rid of that thing.”

“Burying someone alive isn’t getting rid of anything.”

“I’m not the bad guy here,” Marik said, watching the officer interview Tea, “I want to help you. It’s my fault you’re in this mess to begin with. I owned that house. It was passed down to me from my father, but…” He sighed, a lot of the fight leaving his shoulders. “Sis and I tried everything we could to buy it back, but Yuugi insisted on keeping it no matter what.” He humped then smirked. “It’s still my responsibility, my family's responsibility, to deal with that thing. I just know, no matter what, he can’t leave the town.”

“Even if I wanted to, there’s a blizzard out there right now.”

“Where were you taking him?”

“Ivy and her sister found a way to separate them without hurting anyone.”

Marik nodded, tilting his head. “If Ivy knows of a way to do that, maybe my sister could help her.”

“I don’t want her anywhere near Yuugi and Atem.”

He laughed, turning to face him. “I get it. Trust me I do, but this might be his only shot. He can’t leave Kaiba.”

He might be right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He turned away from Marik, staring at Tea animatedly talking to the officer. If he didn't know any better, it seemed like she was flirting with him. It made the interview significantly less productive and Kaiba really hoped Marik would focus on that so he could leave. He didn’t trust either Ishizu or Marik. After what he saw, what happened to Atem, he didn’t want either of them near Yuugi. He wouldn’t let that happen to him. 

“Atem… Is that the guy who died before?”

“What?”

“You said Yuugi and Atem. Who’s Atem?”

“He’s the idiot that got stuck with the demon in the first place.”

Marik shook his head, chuckling. “No. Not the first place. Sis has records that go way back all over the world of that thing. That demon’s caused hell for thousands of years. It feeds and it’s locked away, only for some poor idiot to uproot it, allowing it to feed again.”

“Starving it isn't the answer then.”

“No. I don’t think it can be starved. It can’t be killed, it can only be locked away. From what I know about it, it’s picky who it eats too.”

“Picky?”

“Yeah. Yuugi’s not exactly it’s normal diet, I’ll just say that.” Marik glanced at him. “I actually thought we’d have to deal with you.”

“Why me?”

“It feeds off energy, negative energy is more fulfilling to it than positive energy. I don’t know if you noticed or not but your husband’s not exactly a negatively charged person. He walks into the room and as this young woman said-” he nodded towards the glass- “‘the room lights up’. He's the exact opposite of what it wants.”

“So it  _ wants _ us to separate them and take it out of town?”

“Bingo.”

Kaiba sighed. “There has to be something for us to do that doesn't involve someone’s death.”

Marik chewed the inside of his cheek then turned. “I know you don’t like the idea, but my sis does know what she’s talking about where this thing is concerned. If Ivy can separate them, sis can deal with the demon. It’s what she’s devoted her whole life to do.”

“I have a card here that states otherwise.”

He laughed. “Yeah. She’s busy, but this is her passion. She knows what she’s doing and so does Ivy, even if she wants to be modest about it.” Marik regarded him then turned his attention to Tea as she got up and left the room. “Staying the night?”

“If I have to.”

Marik headed for the door. “You do.”

\---

Yuugi looked up at the fluorescent light. Something was wrong. He didn't know what it was but… it felt like Atem was …fading. Fading or dying or disappearing from him, like his soul was just sucked out of existence and he felt so alone. He tried talking to him but he didn't answer. The longer he sat in that small room staring up at the fluorescent light, the more he panicked. Something was horribly wrong. “Atem?” he whispered, a tear sliding down his cheek. “Don’t give up on us.”

A low growl from under the metal bed made Yuugi freeze up and he couldn’t breathe.  _ ‘Give up? I’m counting on you.’ _

A black clawed hand reached up from the side of the bed and he screamed, pushing away from the edge into the wall. Kicking, screaming, and fighting with everything he had, he tried to get away but it wasn’t enough. 

The light flickered. His only hope and safety flickered again and... went out. 

The darkness thick with the smell of dirt left him confined and panicked, but the hand never touched him. Instead he felt pressure all over him head to toe, the smell of dirt became a taste, the taste became a feeling; his mouth gritty with it until it suffocated him. Cold dirt filled his mouth, his nose, his lungs and his stomach. He couldn’t breathe; couldn’t scream. He reached up and pressed his hand flat on the cold concrete above his head.

He was going to die.

Buried alive.


	13. Chapter Twelve

“Yeah… We thought so too,” Ivy said to Ishizu on the phone, softly smiling at Kaiba in the waiting room chair across from her. “I talked to him. The kid’s still there. That thing’s taken a lot, but he’s still there… Yep that’s why it’ll work. We have the leverage this time. I think we can do it.” She nodded to whatever Ishizu said then laughed. “Don’t you worry hun. I’ll take care of it… See you then.” She hung up and sighed, still smiling at him. “Are you sure?”

“As you’ve said for the last 4 hours, I don’t have a choice.”

“You got a choice. This is just the best one.”

“And I still say it’s debatable.”

She laughed and leaned to the side to put her phone in her pocket. “Maybe, but I don’t think we got a shit ton of time to hash it out. Yuugi’s sick. He’s getting sicker.” Sitting up straight in the chair she grinned with the same confidence she’d had when he first met her. “Sides. I’ll keep Miss Priss in line. She won’t be able to pull anything. You trust me right?”

He pursed his lips and tightened his grip on his upper arms. Yes, he did trust her, but he also trusted the doctors taking care of Mokuba. He was tired of hearing ‘it’s out of your hands’, ‘all we can do is wait and see’, and ‘there’s nothing you can do’. He wanted to trust that she’d take care of them, but at the end of the day it wasn’t her responsibility. It was his. Yuugi trusted him to protect him and care for him, Mokuba did too and Atem needed that as well. She wouldn’t lose anything; he could lose everything. Nothing terrified him more than it all happening again.

Ivy looked him over, keeping her confident grin.“See? Just leave it to me.”

He just stared at her. He couldn't even bring himself to nod. She got up, reaching out to pat his shoulder as she walked away. “Come on, Tea. I could use some help getting my things out of the car.”

“Sure thing Ivy!”

He stared down at his shoes hating every second of this. Every second of the waiting of being unable to know what was going on. He didn’t even know if Yuugi was okay. Marik kept telling him he was sleeping but what did that idiot know? His foot twitched and he debated on standing, walking around the waiting room or going outside, blizzard or not, when Joey took Ivy’s place.

“Ya ready for this?”

No. 

“The crazy B should be here in about a half hour.” He glanced over at Marik standing behind a desk, then turned his gaze to Ryou, asleep across three of the waiting room chairs further down the row. “We talked ‘bout it, Tea, Ryou and me, and we’re gonna stay for a few more days maybe a week. We can sleep somewhere else or whatever, but we’re stayin’ till we’re sure ya guys are alright.”

Kaiba narrowed his eyes; his foot twitching again. “I don’t need your help.”

Joey snorted and chuckled, “Yeah I know, but you’re gettin’ it.”

“Right. Like the ‘help’ you three gave Yuugi changing his flat tire?”

“That was an honest mistake. How was I supposed ta know that Ryou’d never changed a fuckin’ tire before.”

“I can’t think of any ‘help’ you’ve ever done that didn’t end exactly like that.” He smirked at Joey’s growing laughter.

He shook his head and threw his arm back over the chair. “Look, it’s the thought that counts.”

“It doesn’t when I have to settle damages out of court because all of you break everything you touch.”

“Ya can bitch all ya want, but hey, at least we had some fun.”

He’d give him that. He was still trying to forget them ‘helping’ Yuugi throw him the worst surprise birthday party he’d ever witnessed. They lit the cake on fire. He still didn’t know how they did that, but it was one of his favorite memories with all of them. That’s just how it always was when Yuugi’s friends got together. He completely understood Serenity’s concerns when they’d go on ‘get away weekend’ vacations. Kaiba never wanted to go, he also knew she never wanted to go, but he’d get dragged along with her begging him to not make her ‘that girlfriend’ by herself. Thinking about those vacations with Yuugi before Mokuba got sick actually made him feel a little better. All those memories… 

Marik’s walkie fizzled and buzzed, making Kaiba look over at him. He pushed down on it, frowning. “Rodgers if you’re not going to hold the button down, don’t use it.”

It fizzled again and a voice came on, “-bance in cell 4. Prisoner is armed.”

“What the hell?”

Kaiba shot up, watching a few officers run through the waiting room into the same dark gray door as before, uncaring that it wedged against the wall. He stared straight through the doorway feeling like he had to be dreaming. A grown man twice his size flew through the air from the cell into the far wall so hard the wall cracked, dust falling from the ceiling tiles. A gust of cold wind, so cold and unsettling it slowed the approaching officers down, swept down the hall right to him. It was eerily familiar like the chill in the basement, the chill in the fog and the small brushes on his arms from Atem. He bolted after them, ignoring Marik shouting for him to stop. 

The three officers pointed their guns into the room. He wanted to scream at them to stop. Everything was happening too fast. They fired into the room, but all that did was make the whole building shake. Kaiba fell into the wall trying to steady himself. The officers had to lower their guns to keep from falling over as well. As soon as they did, a clawed black hand reached out of the room, dripping in ink and sinking it’s claws into the leg of the closest one; the officer that sat behind the counter. Kaiba watched as he screamed, grasping at anything to keep from being pulled in. “Help me!”

The two officers grabbed his arms, desperately trying to fight the thing that had a hold of him. “Hold on Tim!”

Anther hand came out of the room, digging it’s claws into his thigh, tearing his skin, blood oozing through the torn uniform and dripping on the floor, taking care of the last of his leverage. He shrieked in pain, even more desperate and frantic to get free. They tried, tried to hold on to him and fight something with far more strength and power than they possessed. In the end, they failed. Exactly like Atem did to Yuugi, pulling him under the bed, he was forcefully dragged into the room; kicking, screaming, clawing at them and the concrete floor. 

This wasn’t at all playful. It was malicious and dark. The vile intentions of whoever or whatever it was radiated from the room down the hall, making it difficult to take a deep breath. Snarls, gurgled screams and snapping bones echoed down the hall along with the footsteps and cries of the two remaining officers, scrambling to their feet to run for their lives. 

Mixed in it all, a hauntingly pained cry. 

“Yuugi!”

He ran; ran as fast as he could, dodging the two fleeing for their lives past him, to the doorway of the dark cell. As soon as he touched the door frame the fluorescent lights flickered on, showing Yuugi sitting in the middle of the room with his back to him. He was crying and gagging, shaking like a leaf. Taking in the horror of the room, he couldn’t imagine a different reaction. Remnants of inhuman teeth and claws littered the dead bodies of he officers unfortunate enough to be pulled in. It left behind pools of black ink and blood. So much blood. “Yuugi…”

“I killed him,” Yuugi sobbed and curled into himself, “He’s gone.”

His pained voice reminded him of holding him in the lobby, telling him how Atem was so upset and he didn’t know what to do for him. “You didn’t hurt anyone, Yuugi. This isn’t your fault.”

“I killed him,” Yuugi whimpered, then his voice echoed, changed like he was growling while he talked,  _ “I ate him.” _

He swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly stepped over one of the lifeless bodies towards Yuugi. All he could hear was Yuugi’s echoing sobs as he took another step. It was too quiet. Where was everyone? “You didn’t hurt anyone. This is not you.” 

He took another step, reaching out slowly to touch his shoulder when the lights flickered again, then went out. Though it wasn’t even for a second, creeping dread and panic consumed him. He needed to run. Get out of there before it was too late. When the lights flickered back on, the comfort that should’ve been turned to horror set deep into his soul. He stood toe to toe and face to face with Yuugi, though he could barely recognize him. His black eyes were filled with so much evil, hatred, and wrath Kaiba couldn’t breathe. The ink no longer stayed in his eyes but now covered his skin, dripping down and covering most of his cheeks, his neck and chin. It made the blood so much brighter, on his lips… in his teeth. His grin far more haunting than the darkness of his eyes. He took a step back; the demon mirrored him. 

“Kaiba!”

He heard Marik’s footsteps running towards them, but it held little hope. If he let him help, he’d shoot Yuugi, but he was pretty sure if Marik didn’t shoot him, he’d end up like the dead officers in the bottom of the cell. His only bet was to run and hope he could get away before it turned to that. He backed up, unable to tear his eyes away from Yuugi mimicking his every moment with inhuman twitches and jerks.  _ “You’ll never be able to save him.” _

“Watch me.”

He lurched forward grabbing his injured arm and squeezing it. He growled in pain, but Yuugi laughed.  _ Yuugi laughed _ . The demon used his voice against him again and as much as he hated and damn well knew it was manipulating him, it worked. The laughter at his pain cut him straight through somehow hurting more. Something hit him in the chest sending him flying back into the wall then to the ground. He pushed himself up, cursing under his breath. 

The lights flickered again. He wasn’t sure if it was the demon or bad luck from the snow weighing down a powerline. He looked up, watching Yuugi take a step, jerking, twisting. 

The lights flickered and he was closer. 

Kaiba pushed up and backed up against the wall as the lights flickered again. He was in the doorway. 

He was out of options. One more step and Marik would shoot him. He could see him pointing his gun at the doorway ready for that next step. The demon grinned, the lights flickered, and to his horror and relief, he was gone. He wanted to release the breath he held, but the lights kept flickering, on and off and on and off, keeping him permanently on edge. Yuugi could be anywhere. He tried to look everywhere at once, knowing Yuugi was still there and the demon could appear anywhere at any given moment. It made that clear in the room. He couldn’t hear anything but his own heavy breaths, pounding heart and the click of the lights. Pushing himself up, sliding up the hall, he turned to Marik. 

It wasn’t just Marik. Ryou was right behind him, holding on to his sleeve, Joey leaned back against the wall. They were just as alert, looking everywhere, up and down for Yuugi. He thought about drawing him out, but that didn’t sound like a great plan. What was he going to do if he did? 

“You’re stuck here!” Marik shouted, taking a step away from Ryou and Joey. “You’re stuck in him too, aren’t you?”

Kaiba stared at him in complete shock. Was he out of his damn mind?!

“Show yourself, demon!”

He took another step, the lights continued to flicker. Another slow agonizing step and Kaiba gasped. Yuugi stood right behind him; dirt and blood poured from his mouth as he opened it wide in a deafening scream. Kaiba quickly covered his ears, wincing from the sound and screwed his eyes shut. When he opened them Marik had his gun aimed at where Yuugi once was, incidentally aimed right between Ryou's eyes.

Joey let out a nervous bark of a laugh. “Damn Marik, I dunno whether ya got lightnin’ reflexes or the just suck so bad it ended up workin’ out.”

Marik snarled at him, lowering the gun, “Do you want to get shot?”

Joey held his hands up, grinning ear to ear. 

Laughter from behind him made Kaiba spin on his heel. Yuugi walked up the hall, slowly, but each time the lights flickered, he appeared further and further down the hall, soon rounding the corner.

“Shit.” Marik charged up to him, breathless, “Ishizu’s on her way. We just have to keep him here.” Then he grabbed his shirt, yanking him closer. “Keep. Him. Here.”

He shoved Marik off, glaring him down as he bolted down the hall after Yuugi. Before he could move Ryou shot past him, running after Marik.

“Ryou don’t!” Joey shouted but it was too late. He was gone. “Does everyone here got a death wish er somethin’?” Joey walked up to him and stopped just before the doorway to Yuugi’s cell. “Shit this is bad.” He ran his hand through his hair then suddenly stopped, frowning at the ground. “Do ya hear that?”

He strained to hear, but all he heard were gunshots and screams echoing from somewhere else in the station, but something else was there; straining metal almost or was it a thud inside the cell. He frowned, walking inside, stepping over the mutilated corpse of the officer and staring up at the tile ceiling when he heard it again. Something was in the ducts. “Help me with this.”

Joey gagged and groaned, but he walked in behind him. “With what?”

“Something’s up there. Help me move the bed.”

“Sure why not.”

With both of them, they were able to move the heavy metal bed t the center of the rum under a vent grate. He climbed on to p of the bed and examined the grate, deciding it was best to just use force instead of prying it open. One quick hit and it came loose. After tossing it to the side, he gripped the edge of the grate and looked up into it. Honestly, he thought he’d see nothing. The screams and gunfire hadn’t stopped, so it only made sense for Yuugi to be wherever they were, but the duct wasn’t empty at all. 

“Yuugi!”

He stepped up onto the foot bar of the bed so he could get more into the vent to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Yuugi was there, sitting with his back to him, bloody hands wound tight into his hair. “Marie,” he whispered, “I have to remember…”

Kaiba held on to the edge of the duct and pulled himself up more, reaching his hand out to him. “Yuugi, you’re bleeding. Take my hand, I'll help you out of here.”

“She was so scared.”

He pushed himself further into the duct and reached out to Yuugi, gently but firmly holding his shoulder. “Yuugi look at me.”

He pulled on his shoulder making him turn around. He didn't at first, still refusing to look at him, but then he saw Yuugi reach up with his free hand to put it on his. What was on his hand wasn’t Yuugi’s at all. He gasped and fought the urge to pull back at the skeletal hand on top of his, old, dirty, covered in mud. To add to his bewilderment, he recognized it. “Atem?”

When he did turn around, Kaiba pulled back, his lungs gasping for air and his throat constricted with sheer terror. Atem slowly faced him, leaning heavily on the duct, until he fell forward onto his skeletal hand. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing; didn’t want to believe what he was seeing. Most of him was bone, muddy and decayed, except his wine colored eyes, stark against the dirt, mud and decay. He couldn’t look away. Couldn’t move. The anguish in his eyes…

His jaw clicked, unnaturally shifting from side to side, dirt falling from it. “It’s too late. I can’t.”

The bones in his arm snapped under his weight and he fell forward. Kaiba tried to reach for him. 

“Kaiba! We can’t find Yuugi!”

Ryou’s voice surprised him and he lost his footing on the bar. He fell, scraping his nails against the duct trying to hold on to something. 

“Woah!”

Staring up into the duct opening at the disintegrating skeletal hand reaching for him, he held his breath. Joey somehow managed to catch him, but it probably would’ve hurt less in the long run. He managed to hit his arm and the metal bar hit him square on the claw marks on his leg. Ryou ran over, helping him off the bed, but Kaiba couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dark vacant duct.

Ryou pulled on his coat. “We can’t find Yuugi and Marik said if Ishizu’s much longer he might have to shoot him. We need to find him first.”

“Shit!”

He followed Ryou, running down the winding halls and trying to ignore the spikes of pain in his leg and arm. More gunshots and shouting echoed down the hall, yet he was unsure whether to hope they missed or hit their target. They turned left into a large room that looked more like an office than anything and stopped dead in their tracks. It might’ve been an office but not after whatever it was that possessed Yuugi got a hold of it. The desks were thrown against the walls, bodies of officers and others in the building buried beneath them. Alive or dead he couldn’t begin to guess. Papers flew around the room, highlighting the center where Yuugi stood. Marik stood not far away, his gun pointed right at him. “Marik don’t!”

The lights flickered again and he was gone.

“Damn it!” Marik pulled back the gun, searching all around him, then glared at Kaiba. 

He didn't regret it; wouldn’t take it back either. Marik might want to help, but how would he know either way? Yuugi appeared behind Marik, his grin widening, spewing more blood and dirt. The next thing he knew a blur of white ran past him, Joey stumbling trying to catch him. “Ryou stop!”

Kaiba felt it; felt the cold, the vibrations in the floor, and the rattle of the broken desks and chairs long before he saw it. Yuugi was gone, but it… it was still there. Shapes swelled in the darkness when the lights flickered, slowly stalking closer to Ryou. Each flicker, it moved closer. Ryou stood in the center of the room, staring at it, transfixed by it or petrified with fear. He couldn’t move either. Marik fired at it, but it didn’t stop the advancing monstrosity in the dark.

In a flicker of the lights too fast to stop, too fast to be sure it was even seen, a door on the far wall swung open and someone ran into the room towards Ryou just as the black claws reached him. Then the lights went out completely. 

\---

Yuugi felt nothing, watching himself as if he were watching a dream. He knew it was him, but still felt like it was someone else. He wouldn’t do these things. He did though. His friends being there, Seto being there, it didn’t feel real. The only thing that felt real was Atem’s complete absence from it all. He tried focusing on it, like maybe he was missing something, but he just wasn’t there. 

He watched himself try to kill Ryou; felt the rage and hatred radiating off of him. Not his. All his. Too numb and distant to do much of anything about it, he kept his eyes on himself, still looking for something that wasn’t there. No, it was there. Hit all at once with the hatred, the fear, the guilt and regret, he was himself, laying on his back and staring up at the flickering lights. Somehow merged with the dream. It had to be a dream. He tried to move but something held him down. Panicked, he jerked and kicked, trying to get free until he saw Seto. He tried to say something to him, then he wasn’t in the dream anymore. 

Everything was black and everything hurt. 

He screamed, feeling like his arms were being pulled in opposite directions, threatening to tear him apart straight down his chest. He panted and tried to deal with the pain, tried to get away, tried to pull back. As excruciating as it was, he should be throwing up or blacking out. This was the most pain he’d ever had in his life and he knew for a fact that’s what happened with less. Still awake, still very much aware of his tearing skin and breaking bones, he clenched his fists and turned to see what was holding him. On his right, he couldn’t see anything, but felt sharp stabbing pain in his arm and his wrist. Whatever it was that had him, used something to anchor into him so he couldn’t get away. He still pulled though, deciding it was better to lose a hand than be split in two. It would hurt this bad either way. He yanked and pulled, on that arm most, trying to get away. 

A gentle hand on his other side made him look over.

“Atem?”

There he was! He wasn’t gone! He didn’t hurt him. Although he couldn’t see Atem’s face, he felt the gentleness of his hands on his arm, one lovingly holding his hand, but the other had a hard grip on his wrist. He squeezed his hand, and let out a ragged breath. Something wasn’t right about this. He still felt like he was dreaming, though this sort of pain couldn’t possibly be in a dream. Changing tactics, he stopped pulling on his left and tried to use all of his focus to get out of the clutches of whatever it was in the darkness. 

It didn’t work. He thought he could use Atem’s grip as leverage, use that pull to work with him, but it didn’t work that way at all. It felt like he was rooted into one place, Atem was going one way, the darkness another. He only had half his strength without his other hand. Half wasn't enough. 

He had to let Atem go.

The more he thought about that the less it felt like his arms, and the more it just felt like part of him. Not physically, but still very real. This pain was real. Seto was trying to separate them, his friends were, but this wasn’t anything like what he thought it’d be. It was agonizing! What the hell was this thing anchored into him?! He pulled on it again, trying so hard to not do what he knew deep down he needed to. The anchors didn’t budge, and Atem pulled harder. 

“Let go,” Yuugi whispered, “It’s okay. You can let go.”

“No.”

“Go see your family. I’m sure your sister misses yo-ugh,” The pain intensified; pulled apart and having to let go, further adding to the feeling this was deep inside of him. “I can’t keep you here. You need to let me go.”

“I…”

Another wave of agony pulsed through him, but it worked in his favor this time. He could feel the anchors slipping. He could pull away. Atem tightened his grip on him, almost as deep as the anchors. It felt like he said something to him telling him he loved him and to tell Seto the same. Then he let go. The instant he did, he used all of his pain, fear and grief to yank himself away from the thing holding onto him. It tore through him, split him where the anchors were and part of him went along with whatever that thing was latched on to him. He didn’t know what it was he lost, but he mourned it. Blinking the darkness from his eyes, he felt relieved to finally see colors again. To see light again.

He felt a hand on his face and leaned into it, squinting at the faces above him. “Seto?”

Seto looked so relieved, but he had no idea why and it surprised him when he picked him up, holding on to him so tight he couldn't breathe. He felt like he’d just woken up from a deep sleep and laid his head on his shoulder. Why was it so bright in their room? “I’m fine. You can turn the light off,” he murmured then yawned, “It’s just a bad dream.”

“Ha! Nah, it’s stayin’ fuckin’ on.”

“Joey?” Yuugi frowned, feeling more arms around him. 

“I’m officially sleeping with the lights on forever,” Ryou murmured and it sounded like he was crying.

Tea laughed through a sob, “Amen to that!”

Alarmed that something happened, he tried to shift to see his friends, but no one would let him move. He heard a lot more than just his friends after that, whispers and shouts, sirens and people running around. He tried to shift again, but that didn't work either. Sighing, he gave up and closed his eyes. At least he was comfortable. “Did the house catch on fire or something?”

Tea laughed, patting him on the arm. “Don’t worry about it, alright?”

“Okay.”

He listened, growing more concerned by the sounds. Someone was crying? Others were shouting. Something really bad happened, but it didn’t quite reach him with everyone wrapped around him. He still couldn't see even if he wanted to. At least not until he felt Seto move finally. A paramedic grabbed Yuugi’s shoulder separating him from them. They all moved back. Yuugi just stared at him, and winced when he flashed a light in his face. The paramedic gestured for another and next thing he knew, he was being lifted up. He sucked in a sharp breath latching on to Seto as he lifted him up. The paramedic started to say something and stopped, waving for them to follow him. 

Yuugi got a good hard look at where he was. Where the crying and the running came from. It looked like he was in a police station, so many injured and everything destroyed. It looked like a bomb went off. Was that what happened? “Seto?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Seto carried him through hallways, also destroyed, smeared with what looked like blood and littered with broken glass. He stared wide eyed at bullet holes in the walls. Don’t worry about it?! How did he get here?! 

Just outside of the building, he saw several officers with bandages and slings, all talking to more paramedics, the light flurries of snow reflected with red and blue. When did it start snowing? “What day is it?” he murmured, wrapping his arms around Seto’s neck. 

The paramedic turned and smirked at him. “I was about to ask you that.”

He let out a small chuckle, swallowed up by the voices around him. Seto laid him down on a stretcher, stepping back so the paramedics could do their job. Yuugi couldn't look away from them. The one who’d talked to him before grabbed the side of the stretcher and helped the other paramedic get it into the ambulance. Yuugi started to sit up, ready to insist Seto come with him, but he couldn’t move with a hand gently holding him down. “Try not to move.”

Seto climbed in right as the other paramedic closed one of the doors, he saw his friends walking out just before she closed the other. Laying his head back, he tried to breathe, tried to wrap his head around what was going on, but the anxiety and fear didn’t stop. They checked his pulse, blood pressure and who knew what else before the paramedic smiled at him. “Still don’t know what day it is?”

“I think it’s November 14th.”

He shot a look to Seto for confirmation, feeling his stomach twist from the blood on his busted lip and the very clear look of disappointment in his eyes.

The paramedic nodded, looking up at something then back down. “What’s your name?”

“Yuugi Kaiba.”

“Where do you live.”

“3245 Oarcrest road. It’s the old house at the top of the hill on the outskirts of town. We remodeled it.” Yuugi looked back at Seto hoping at least that was right. 

“So. November 14th huh? What did you do that day?”

“I… we painted the ceiling in our room.” Yuugi frowned, trying really hard to think. “Wait…”

They painted the ceiling for Atem. It was probably one of the best day’s he’d had in a long time. Seto took a nap while he talked about the stars with Atem, then he woke up and they played chess with him. Well, Seto played chess and he tried to keep Atem from losing (since Seto insisted Yuugi wasn’t allowed to show him how to win). He made dinner… they went to sleep…

“It can’t be the 14th.”

The week that followed came to him slowly as the ambulance moved, swaying slightly from the uneven pavement or maybe the snow. That week was just as wonderful as that day. They played a million more games of chess, made Atem his own account on Seto’s system so he could join them for games, and talked about buying another system for him. Marla got to meet Atem for the first time with Topper in his hair. He remembered how loud she screamed, scaring him so bad he almost fell down the stairs trying to run to the lobby to check on her. That was Tuesday... the 22. 

“The 28th?” he murmured to himself. 

They had to work at the B&B all week. He played a long game with Atem trying to get the doll. It was the first time Seto played too, although ‘played’ was a stretch. He surprised Atem by taking it from him and threw it to Yuugi. The look on his face, utter shock and mock betrayal had him laughing for hours. How could he forget that? But that wasn’t the last day either. 

He was sleeping, or laying in bed, admiring the morning light on Atem’s face. Then he was looking for Topper… “I remember Tea called me…” He closed his eyes trying to think. “Tea called me… I don’t remember where I was though.”

“Don’t worry about it now. Just rest, okay?” 

He nodded, eyes still closed and focused on hearing Tea’s voice over that call. Something about an arcade. Joey was there…

\---

The tiny clink of metal woke him up. It kept happening, really soft and sporadic. He sighed, opening his eyes. He recognized it immediately, the cream colored bed railing and the IV in his arm. He wanted to go back to sleep, but the clink made him look down the bed. Ryou sat in a chair facing him, staring at what looked like chainmail with long knitting needles strung through the top. He stared at it with tightly pursed lips and an indignant frown creasing his brow. Maybe it was giving him trouble. “Where did you get that?”

Ryou looked up and smiled. “Well, since I was supposed to be on holiday, I thought I’d get this done.”

“What is it?”

“Well…” he lifted it up laying it over his chest then sighed, letting it fall into his lap. “It’s supposed to be chainmail you wear under armor. I’m making it for the faire next year. Remember?”

“I didn’t know you even started on it.”

Ryou giggled and nodded. “I’m on holiday.”

Yuugi shifted on the bed so he could see Ryou better. His cheek on the right side looked dark, even in the dim light, almost like he had a bruise. His coat half on, half off, draped over his right shoulder where he sported a wrapped up arm and hand. How was he doing that with an injured arm? “What happened? Did you fall or something?”

Ryou looked down at his hand, twisting it to get a better look at the bandage. “No.” He sighed, setting his things down on the table and grabbing the bottom of his chair to scoot it forward. 

Yuugi frowned, sitting up in the bed as well. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a little…” He frowned looking up at him and set his hands delicately in his lap. “I’m worried about you both.”

“I told you we’re fine.” Yuugi groaned and laid back down, glancing around the room, he sat up again. “Where’s Seto? And Joey?”

“They went back to the house to check it out.”

“Oh.” He glared down at the bed sheets, reaching for the button to lift the back of the bed. Why wasn’t Seto there with him? He might not remember anything that happened, but apparently it was bad enough for him to end up in the hospital. Wasn’t he worried about him? Couldn’t Marla check the- “He’s checking on Atem.”

“Sort of.”

“He’s probably worried if I’m here. When’s Seto coming back?”

“In a few hours I think.” 

When he looked up at Ryou, his chest tightened; he was crying. He shifted in the bed, scooting down to be closer to Ryou and wrapped his arms around him, being really careful not to pull on the IV. He was already freaked out about everything happening before, but now he felt like there was something else. Something no one was telling him and he couldn’t catch his breath listening to Ryou try to calm down, holding on to him for dear life. He didn't know what to say or what to think. He just waited, waited for him to say something, to explain. Worried if he asked, he’d try to brush it off.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize for anything, Ryou. What’s wrong? Is it your arm.”

He shook his head. “I do need to. I spent the last month really worried about you, about everything. I didn’t listen to you and I should have. This is all my fault.”

Yuugi sat back and put his hands on Ryou’s shoulders. “I might not know what’s going on, but I’m positive it isn’t your fault.”

Ryou laughed weakly and smiled. “You were right about Atem.”

Yuugi wanted to relax, go into a nice long ‘I know isn’t he great’ spiel, but the way he said it… was like a reflection about something that ended, not changing his mind about something happening. He just stared at Ryou, unable to get his voice to work, teeth grit together keeping him from asking what changed his mind. He didn’t want to know. 

Ryou took a calming breath and looked down at his lap. “He saved my life and because of me, he’s not here anymore.”

Yuugi let his hands fall from Ryou’s shoulders, but he refused to let go completely, gently resting his hands on his jacket sleeves.

“He wouldn’t listen to me so Tea and Joey went with him, but he’s not there.”

“O-okay. Wait. Back up. What do you mean saved your life? I-” He stopped and licked his lips, regretting that he had to ask. “What happened? What day is it? How long-”

“A week,” Ryou murmured. “It’s fairly common for someone who’s possessed to not remember any of it afterwards.”

“Possessed?!”

“Shhh!”

Yuugi leaned back, letting him go and stared at him like he had six heads. Ryou groaned and glanced at the doorway. “You don’t have the nicest nurse right now.” 

“Got it.” He watched the doorway too, when no one came in he looked back at Ryou. “Atem wouldn’t do that.”

He shook his head. “He didn’t mean to. It was an accident. Well,” He barked out a hoarse laugh then smiled ruefully, “ _ He _ didn’t mean to, but it did. I’m sure it did. It was waiting for the right moment and took it.”

“It?”

“Atem wasn’t a demon. I was wrong. There was a demon though, it anchored itself into Atem’s soul and ate up his memories. It’s why he thought he was a demon, but when he possessed you, the demon took over.” Ryou’s eyes welled up with tears again. “We thought we could get you to someone to separate you and save both of you, but I guess it knew what we were doing and-”

Yuugi put his hand on his shoulder again, squeezing him gently. “That’s why it looked like a bomb went off when I woke up.”

“It used you to get what it wanted. I guess it cast Atem off at some point, because it tried to kill me and he saved me doing exactly what Kaiba said you did to get possessed in the first place. He ran right into you. I saw it. I don’t know how… I just saw it.” He sniffled and shook his head. “Ishizu and Ivy came in after that. They tried to get the demon out, but it was too strong. We thought we were going to lose you.” He looked up and smiled, wrapping his arms around him, startling him. “Then it all stopped and you woke up.”

“How-” He hugged him back, frowning at the back of the chair, trying to process what he’d said. “How do you know Atem’s gone?”

“I can feel it. Can’t you?”

No. He couldn’t feel anything. Even that realization didn’t pack as much of a punch as it should have. It was unbelievable. He wanted to see it for himself. He completely understood Seto going home now. He’d do the same thing. He wondered if he’d feel any differently when Seto came back. If he’d still need to see. If he’d need to feel the emptiness in the house himself. He believed Ryou. He knew he wouldn't lie to him about this, but he still… had to see.

“He’s really upset,” Ryou murmured, “I hope he comes back soon. I don’t think Tea or Joey will make him feel much better.”

Yuugi felt himself smile. “Fighting with Joey always makes him feel better.”

“No it doesn't.”

“Yep. Joey gets so worked up he ducks out of the fight because it isn’t worth it. Seto counts that as a win.” He started to laugh, remembering Seto complaining when Yuugi never ducked out of a fight. If Seto wanted one, he’d get one, and he told him that all the time. “I don’t think I’m going to make him feel any better.”

“Maybe he can make you feel better.”

\---

“Atem!” Tea shouted, running into the house.

Kaiba followed her, wondering why the house felt exactly as it always had. Nothing ‘lighter’, as Ishizu and Ivy said it would be like. He felt the ‘lighter’ when Yuugi woke up in the police station. This wasn’t like that. It gave him hope Atem was there, so he didn’t stop Tea from running through every room shouting for him. Instead he headed straight for the basement. If Atem was in the house, Tea would run into him up in their bedroom or he’d be downstairs. Kaiba felt if he was there at all, he’d be downstairs.

He was surprised when Joey followed him through the living room into the kitchen, even more surprised when he followed him down the stairs to the basement. What happened at the police station rattled him; rattled all of them. It’s another reason he came here instead of staying at the hospital with Yuugi. He kept reliving it, kept hearing him screaming, seeing things he swore weren’t real. He needed some kind of normal. This, he hoped, would be it. The basement lights left a lot to the imagination, especially in the far corner where the bricks laid stacked against the wall. Long shadows cast across the concrete floor and against the walls. He could be in any one of them. He looked at every one of them. Walking through towards the hole in the wall where they'd dug up the disintegrating wooden coffin, the air felt exactly like before as well. 

Nothing changed, yet Atem never showed himself. 

Tea walked down the stairs making both him and Joey look at her. She topped halfway down and leaned forward so they could see her face. “He’s not upstairs or he’s ignoring me.”

Joey huffed, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning dramatically to his right to see around a stack of boxes. “He ain’t down here either.”

“Do you think he’s gone?”

“Man, I dunno. Feels the same.”

Kaiba nodded.

“Maybe we just can’t see him anymore.”

That was a worse thought. One he hadn’t considered. What if he was still there, invisible and unable to be heard? What if he was trying everything he could to get their attention and they just walked right through him? That would be hell for him. He didn’t know what was worse; knowing Atem was gone, like Mokuba, or still there, cut off again from everything after all he’d done, cut off from them. “I’d rather he left than that.”

Tea nodded in agreement. “I think we should have Ishizu or Ivy or someone come here and smudge the house. If he is here like that, then he could leave. It would be more merciful.”

Kaiba looked away from them, staring at the shadows, still waiting as he balled his fists and clenched his teeth.

“Ya want her ta what?”

“It’s a thing. I swear.” 

He heard Tea’s footsteps on the stairs, Joey followed her immediately, making him turn back to watch them. He lingered behind, waiting to see Atem pop up with his ridiculous hair from behind one of the boxes. When he didn’t, and he couldn’t see Joey’s shoes on the stairs anymore, he relented and left. 

\---

Yuugi woke up feeling like someone ripped out his heart and stuffed the empty space with tar. Thick and sticky and consuming, but familiar. He’d felt like this before. The death of a dear friend. The loss of someone who should always be there, someone he never expected to be gone. Was he really gone? He shifted on the bed, looking down at Ryou, only to realize it wasn’t him. Seto sat in the chair Ryou was in with his elbows on the bed, his hands folded under his chin. He stared down at the bed with a strange look on his face; zoned out, not really there or seeing anything. Even when Yuugi moved, he didn’t stir or blink. 

“Seto?”

He slowly looked over at him, just staring.

Yuugi shifted on the bed, reaching out to hold his hand, gently pulling him so he’d move. Yuugi smiled, relieved that he let him. He had to feel like this too, maybe worse. Seto already knew what it was like. Maybe not just his heart gone but something else, consumed by grief, anger and sadness so thick it congealed. A mass of emptiness. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, unable to think of anything else to say.

Seto kissed the top of his knuckles then let their hands rest, returning to stare at the bed like he was before.

“What are you doing?”

“...Thinking.”

He nodded. It made sense, sort of obvious now that he thought about it. Squeezing his hand, he sighed, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Seto shook his head ever so slightly.

He expected that, and looked around the room for their friends. “Where is everyone?”

“They went back.”

“Back home?”

“No, the B&B.”

His lips curled into a soft smile. “So you kicked them out?”

The corners of Seto’s lips twitched, like he wanted to smile, but couldn't manage it, and Yuugi’s smile fell as well. He never did the right thing, said the right thing. He should be a pro at this by now. He memorized the lists he looked up online on how to help with grief, all the things the doctors said, all the suggestions and helpful advice. Laying there now, he knew them, knew they’d help, but it never seemed to help Seto. He started to wonder if it would help him. He felt like the tar bubbled in his chest; spiking his loneliness and regret. They didn’t get to say goodbye, wasn’t sure where he was or if he was okay. He couldn’t talk to Seto about any of this, just bring both of them further down. He couldn’t save Seto from drowning when he was drowning too, no matter how badly he wanted to. 

“I-” he paused and tried to swallow, his throat tight from keeping his tears at bay- “I know you don’t want to talk about it, and probably don’t have the head space for it, but I’d really like to.”

Seto turned to face him, looking down at him. He tried so hard to keep it together, for both of them, but nothing he did mattered. A tear ran down the bridge of his nose, dripping onto his pillow. The first of many and he couldn’t stop it anymore. Seto shook his head and pushed his shoulder. “Move.”

“Wha-?”

“Move over.”

He moved, screwing his eyes shut hoping that would stop everything, stop from feeling so helpless and useless and alone. It didn’t help. Even feeling the dip in the bed from Seto didn't help. Would anything ever help this? He curled into himself, or tried to when he felt Seto’s arm snake under him, pulling him closer. He opened his eyes, blinking tears away confused. Not that he wanted him to stop. Taking a shaky breath, he fisted the back of Seto’s shirt. He was laying on the bed with him? “I thought you said-” he sniffled- “only idiots do this?”

He huffed, wrapping his arms around him, pressing on his back and tangling a hand in his hair. “I’ve said a lot of things.”

  
\---

Yuugi refused to let go of Seto’s hand, walking into their home. As prepared as he thought he was, his heart still panged from the hollow silence. It hurt to see Seto looking still, a double edged sword of hope that could very easily turn into disappointment, but they wanted to try, needed to try, to come home. They walked through the living room to the kitchen. Eventually he let go of Seto’s hand to stand in the center of the tile floor and watched him open a cabinet, then another, wondering what he was looking for. The squeaks of the open cabinets and soft thud when they closed sounded so much louder than they did before, highlighting the emptiness. He needed to keep moving, needed to get away from the sound. 

He turned, walking down the hall to their bedroom, but stopped at his gaming room door. The bedroom door was partly open, the glow of the stars on the ceiling slightly visible. No matter how hard he tried to make himself take that first step up, he couldn’t move. He just couldn’t face their room and the idea that it could be empty. Atem’s pillow and the stars… Facing his gaming room, he retreated into it, adjusting his eyes to the darkness. If he was there, he was probably tired and needed the lights off. 

He walked into the middle of the room, taking a deep calming breath.

Silence. 

“I miss you.”

More silence.

He started to leave his office when something caught his eye. He backed up, fumbling for the lightswitch, his hand grazing over it and flipping it on, but the light did little to help him see. Everything blurred with unshed tears. He gripped the doorframe, his knees buckling, and sank to the ground. He couldn’t look away. Sitting in his office chair, hunched over a little to the side, was his dark magician doll; hauntingly staged exactly where he left it the day it first disappeared. Just behind him on the desk was the golden cat his grandpa gave him also staged like he had the day he unpacked his things. 

Atem was really gone. 

He was gone.

Yuugi fought back a sob, staring at the dark magician doll. He didn’t want to scare Seto or break this to him. They knew, but seeing it…

This was all his fault. Why couldn’t he remember? Is this what Atem wanted? Did it hurt? He hoped it didn’t hurt him, hoped he was home with his parents and his sister and brother, hoped he remembered him and Seto and knew how much they loved him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned, his jaw quivering watching him kneel down beside him. “Let’s go.”

“Okay…” He let Seto help him up and gently lead him into the hall then stopped. “Wait.” He walked into the room and grabbed the doll, holding it tight to his chest. This was one of those times he needed it.

Following Seto, he saw his cookie cutter on the island, his broken headphones on the coffee table where they’d first disappeared, and his eyeliner brush half under the sofa half out. He must’ve seen that. It’s probably why he came to get him. He thought Seto would lead him to the car, instead he brought them through the front to the B&B. 

Marla offered a sympathetic smile; Seto didn’t even look, but he appreciated it. 

They walked down the hall and into one of the rooms. If he remembered right , this was the room he brought him to just before they met Atem. Seto closed the door behind them, walking past Yuugi to the bed. He dramatically fell back on it and sighed, covering his face and rubbing his temples. Yuugi smiled and crossed the room to join him. He wanted to flop down on it too, sure that would at least help, but he didn’t want to elbow Seto in the ribs attempting to. It’d happened before. So he laid down, wrapping his arm and leg around him, nuzzled into the crook of Seto’s neck and smiled when he wrapped his arm around his shoulders. 

Seto exhaled, long and loud then muttered, “What are we going to do?”

Yuugi reached over him laying the magician doll on the pillow then laid back down, staring at it. He didn’t know what to say. What were they going to do? “I’m sorry.” 

“Stop.”

Yuugi sighed. “This is my fault.”

“How?”

“....” He wrinkled his nose trying to think of something. “I bought the house.”

“Sure,” Seto scoffed, squeezing his shoulder. “We agreed to stay. I don’t regret that.”

“No,” he murmured, closing his eyes, “I don’t either.”

Neither said a thing and Yuugi listened to his breathing while his mind raced. He wanted to remember. He felt like the last week was right in the back of his mind, it was there, he just couldn’t see it clearly. He tried to think of things that would make him remember it. As painful as that was. He remembered shaking like a leaf on this bed with Seto doing as best as he could to console him and being his normal self; sucking at it. He was trying though. He even noticed it then. 

Atem wasn’t trying to hurt him or scare him. In hindsight, after all that he’d done since they discovered he was there, he must’ve just wanted the contact, human contact. Yuugi had no idea and genuinely thought something was trying to kill him. He smiled and huffed, remembering when he woke up and was unable to move. He couldn't talk, could hardly breathe. He felt like someone was lying on his chest and someone was. He knew, deep down thinking back on it, eyes closed and a smile across his face, Atem was watching him sleep. He could imagine it, like it should’ve been: Atem laying on his chest with his arms crossed under his chin, head tilted to the side with his things nestled in his hair, just watching him with a loving smile. He doubted Atem had any clue that he’d somehow trapped him there. 

He was so scared he started crying and like magic he could move, could scream, and he did. He bolted out of there so fast he smacked the back of his hand on the wall turning the corner to race to the front door.

Atem probably felt awful. 

Seto shifted and he opened his eyes watching him reach into his pocket and pull out something that made a clicking sound. In the palm of his hand were the three chess pieces Atem kept in his hair. The black rook, white king and- “What’s that?”

“The white queen.”

“There’s ink on it.”

“I noticed that too. It doesn’t rub off though.” To iterate his point he rubbed his thumb over the ink stained base and showed him. Nothing on his fingers.

“Do you think… that was his way of saying goodbye?”

Seto examined it and sighed, “I think so.”

“I hope he’s happier and remembers his family. I hope he’s with them.” Yuugi sniffled and nuzzled closer to him. “I want him to be happy.”

He hummed in agreement. “Do you know what I want?”

“What?”

“I want that vacation,” Seto whispered, “the one you promised to bail me out of jail during.”

Yuugi laughed and hugged him as tight as he could. “Deal.”


	14. Chapter Thirteen

It took forever for Kaiba to fall asleep. He kept hearing things; the creak of floor boards, the whistle of the wind against the house rattling the shudders. Despite everyone in the B&B being asleep, he knew they were, he kept hearing things making it almost impossible to sleep. By the time he did end up dozing off, he felt it was only for a second.

“Seto,” Yuugi whispered, gently shaking his hip.

He sighed and tried to wake up from the dead sleep he was in, but it didn't last long. He had a strange dream about a bell and Yuugi talking to him when he felt someone shaking him again. He groaned and sat up, realizing Yuugi was upright in the bed. “What are you-”

“Shh.”

He sat there, rubbing the sleep from his eyes when he heard a bell, small and quiet, just like Yuugi’s magician doll. He looked at the door, now wide awake. Did Atem come back? Dropping his hand into his lap, he turned to Yuugi to ask how long he’d heard it when he saw Yuugi’s face. He was shaking, staring wide eyed at the door, the dim light reflecting off the trails of tears on his cheeks. 

He was terrified. 

He had no idea why. It didn’t make any sense. Glancing at the clock on his night stand, it read 2:12, the time Atem normally pestered Yuugi awake to tempt him to play their ridiculous game. The room was cold, but he supposed he’d grown used to it. He reached out to Yuugi, attempting to hold his hand and let him know it was okay, but he realized he was holding something.

He was already holding the doll.

Kaiba turned slowly to the doorway again. The bell sounded closer. Now he understood why Yuugi was shaking;  _ he _ was terrified. This couldn’t be happening. He fought with a reasonable explanation that didn’t lead to the all out panic he felt building between him and Yuugi. He tossed off the blankets and got out of bed. Yuugi gasped and tried to grab him, still clutching the doll to his chest. “What are you doing?!” he rasped.

“Seeing what it is.”

“Why?!”

“Because sitting in bed won’t help.”

Yuugi got out of bed, still shaking and raced to his side, standing just behind him. He didn’t know what got to him more, standing at the threshold of the doorway. The jingle of the tiny bell closer still or the cloud of his visible breath wafting up. 

“I’m really scared.”

After what he’d seen in the police station, after what he’d lost and what he almost lost, the sound of the bell felt like large granules of salt mangled into a festering wound. He saw what the demon could do, saw how futile it was to fight it. If it was still there… “I am too.”

He walked out into the hallway, looking down both directions. Yuugi stopped in the doorway, holding onto the frame. The hallway was empty, no bell, no Atem, no...thing with claws ready to snatch the breath from his lungs. Just a dark empty hallway. 

He looked back at Yuugi wishing all of this would just stop. It was bad enough. Yuugi forced a weak smile and leaned his head on the door frame. “I want to go upstairs.”

Part of him did too, the other part wanted to walk out the front door and never set foot in this place again. “Okay.”

The ring of a bell.

In the room.

Yuugi paled.

Kaiba sucked in a sharp breath and reached for him, his fingers grazing his arm, but not quite fast enough to hold him. He slipped right through his fingers, pulled back by his ankle. Yuugi fell to the ground screaming and clawing at the floor as he was dragged under the bed. Kaiba dove for him, not willing to let him go, but he couldn’t get a good grip on him that way either. He could still hear Yuugi screaming, the bed jolting from the wall, shaking and scratching on the hardwood floor. 

He shot to his feet and rounded the bed, the only thought able to drown out Yuugi’s screams; he couldn’t lose him too. He lifted the bedframe and flipped the bed, tossing it and knocking over the lamp on the nightstand.

Yuugi wasn’t under it. 

He backed up, his shoulders and arms screaming at him in pain, his lungs burning with every breath he took despite the cold still making his breath visible. Staring at the empty space where Yuugi should be, his mind reeled. He watched the whole thing, heard him screaming, he should be there! He was there before. He wasn’t now. 

He needed help. 

He ran out of the room, sliding on the rug and rounded the corner down the hall to the lobby. Why wasn’t anyone awake? Didn’t anyone hear Yuugi screaming? He just threw the bed! How did he throw the bed? He ran through the lobby to the staircase. Ryou, Tea and Joey were all upstairs. They could help him find Yuugi. Rounding the staircase, he looked up and froze in place. 

Yuugi stood at the top of the stairs, black eyes, ink dripping onto his cheeks, his mouth black with it and it oozed over his bottom lip dripping onto his nightshirt and the floor. He looked just as dead as Atem and his movements screamed that. With a sickening snap and pop he practically slammed a foot down on the stair, then another, slowly creeping towards him. 

Each step he took Kaiba took a step back. 

The paint on the wall peeled in strips as he passed, the stairs creaked and snapped, aging right before his eyes. By the time Yuugi reached the bottom of the stairs, the paint on the entire wall aged and decayed, falling off and littering the ground. He couldn’t breathe, couldn't think, staring as the house changed. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, he tried to step back, but his heel caught on the decaying rug and he fell backwards. 

His head hitting the ground hard. 

  
\---

When he sat up Yuugi was gone, but he wasn’t in the lobby of the B&B anymore. He sat on the floor in the foyer of the house before they remodeled it. The lights were off, completely dark aside from the light coming through the open front door. He frowned at it, then pushed himself up to look around the house. “Yuugi?”

His steps muffled from the dust, but the wood beneath it still creaked with each shift of his weight. The sheets covering the furniture made him uncomfortable. He had no idea what was a chair or what could be that thing, lurking and waiting for him to pass by. How did the house change like this? Was he dreaming? 

Something moved across the floor and he jumped back, sighing when it was just a mouse. Just a mouse, though it’s tail disappearing under the sheets reminded him of Topper. He reached for the wall to steady himself, wrinkling his nose as the paint crumbled in his hands. Walking into the dark kitchen, he searched for any sign of movement. “Yuugi!”

A shadow moved, ducking behind a sheet covered table.

Bigger than a mouse. Much bigger and much faster. He froze, staring at the sheet waiting for something else to move. He couldn’t breathe, taking a step back, the floor creaking beneath him. For as big and as fast as the shadow was, it should’ve made a sound. He started to take another step back when a hand darted out from the sheets grabbing ahold of his leg where the thing grabbed him before. 

He shouted in pain and fear, falling back into the wall. 

“Seto?” Yuugi lifted the sheet and scooted out from under the table, his head down.

Still unsure if it was actually Yuugi or that thing, he didn’t respond. Not until he looked up at him. His cheeks were scratched, blood dripping down his chin and his nails just as bloody. Even in the dark, Kabia saw his eyes weren't black and he was still shaking like a leaf. 

He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him the rest of the way out from under the table. Yuugi clung to him, shaking and crying into his shoulder. As worried for Yuugi as he was, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, of being set up. 

If Yuugi was there like this, that meant that thing was close- waiting and watching. 

Or worse… still in him. 

Leaning back, he pushed on Yuugi’s shoulder and cupped the side of his face not as badly cut. Yuugi let him turn his face so he could look at the cuts. They were bleeding, but blood wasn’t all that was there. Ink, black and prominent, dripped and mixed with his blood. Yuugi’s hands weren’t any different. 

“I’m sorry.”

Yuugi barely shook his head, as if moving away from him would start it all over again. 

“Come on. We need to get out of here, okay?”

He nodded, a deathgrip on his hand. 

Kaiba tried to keep close to him while he shifted to get ready to pick Yuugi up. He had his arms around him, trying to lean him back when Yuugi started gasping for air and coughing. He stopped, reminded of the dinner at Ivy’s when Yuugi coughed up dirt and the glass thermometer. Another way the demon was hurting them. It was so clear now he wondered why he didn't pick up on it sooner.

Yuugi hunched forward heaving muck, black like the ink but thick as tar. It poured from his lips into a disgusting ooze on the dusty cracked tile. Yuugi gasped and wrapped his arms around his stomach, but it looked like he was better. He started to reach for him again when the ooze moved.

He blinked, unsure if he really saw that in the darkness.

It moved again, bubbling and snaking its way between them like it was alive. He had no choice but to step back and let go of Yuugi completely. It slithered and bubbled, congealing into one clawed hand and then another, stretching and growing, forming into the monster from his nightmare towering over him. 

There was no fog to shroud it this time. Not enough darkness to hide it’s grotesque form. He felt the cold, the terror and the wrath wafting off of it like the putrid smell of rotting flesh on its breath. It leaned closer. Kaiba looked up at… _ it’s face. _

“Seto Kaiba.”

It’s face!

It growled and snarled, jerking forward. 

He scrambled back, his gaze now focused on its wriggling clawed fingers. It made it easier to think. He refused to look at it directly again.

“Perfect.”

He scowled, keeping his eyes on the claws, but trying to see if he could find Yuugi behind it. 

“A foot in life and a foot in the grave. Perfect.” As it spoke, Kaiba swore he could hear the snarl of some kind of beast and the echo of a language he didn’t know.

“What do you want?”

“You.” 

“Go to hell.”

It laughed, mixed together with the growl of a hellish beast and the sickening gurgle of the ink. “Very well. I’ll settle for the other.”

Kaiba gasped, realizing it meant Yuugi and tried to move. It moved so much faster and before he knew it, the thing clawed three gashes across his upper arm. He screamed and fell back into a sheet-covered wooden chair, gripping his bleeding arm. It hurt. It hurt so much more than any cut he’d ever had, burning from the inside out and it wouldn’t stop.

“Change your mind?”

He made himself get up, determined to at least stand on his own two feet. Though he couldn’t deny his surprise when it let him.  _ Unnerved  _ that it let him. “You can’t have him.”

“I already do. I will take his body, devouring his soul until his flesh no longer holds us. Then I’ll find another and leave his rotting corpse and hollow soul where it drops.”

Kaiba grit his teeth, still trying to find Yuugi behind him.

“He isn’t there.” It laughed and the ink and muck slithered away inside its torso revealing Yuugi’s face, staring at him with dull black eyes. It swallowed him up before Kaiba could blink. “Still think you have control here?”

He tightened his grip on his injured arm, staring at the slithering black glob that held Yuugi. It shouldn’t be him. “You want me to take his place. Why?”

“These souls are tasteless and weak. Pathetic. Yours…” -It moved forward, gesturing to him with it’s grotesque claws. He could smell it, smell the stench of rotting flesh, and coughed- “is a feast of dark desire, despair and regret. I could indulge on your soul for years before your flesh would not hold us. A proper meal.”

It reached out to the walls, digging its claws into them to drag its body closer to him. He tried to step back but he was up against the wooden chair. “Why the hesitation? The world would be much better if Seto Kaiba never existed in it.”

He grit his teeth.

“I hold the fate of your guilt. So what will it be?”

His guilt? Maybe when this house was like this, old and broken down, never touched and never lived in. Before they made it their own and maybe even a little after that. He didn’t feel like that now. Yuugi stayed with him because he wanted to, and it wasn’t to hold on to a past promise or even that he felt he was needed to keep him going. He was there because he loved him. 

His world fell apart and he tried to break it down the rest of the way. If Yuugi didn’t care about him, everything the demon said would be true. He did care, does care, and no matter what he did to test it, to push it well beyond its limits and break it, Yuugi never stopped caring about him. They grew from all of that. And his life, regardless of being terrified and staring at an inky mass of nightmares, was better than it was before. They just had the bad luck of trying to rebuild on loose sand. Yuugi never gave up on him. He wasn’t his guilt, he was his  _ everything _ else. 

If this happened before they met Atem, before they lived here and had to deal with the strangest bull shit he’d ever heard of, he would’ve accepted this offer just to leave. Having a demon devouring your bad dreams and bitter memories would’ve sounded like a vacation. Now he wasn’t doing this for himself. Joey was right. No matter what, he was here for Yuugi and he’d do anything for him.

“Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Let him go… I’ll take his place.”

It hovered in front of him for a while then reached back to dig its claws into the wall again, dragging its body back and leaving Yuugi where he once stood. Yuugi crumpled unconscious, and he had to move fast to catch him before he hit the floor. The room filled with warm light making him blink and turn to see the fireplace lit and crackling. 

“Burn it down.”

“Won’t that kill both of us?”

It laughed, growling and gurgling, but didn’t respond to him. He looked back down at Yuugi, pale bruised and bleeding. He didn’t know whether to take his time to admire his face since this would be the last time he’d see him or try not to look too close and keep his memories of when he had more color to his cheeks, when eyes and smile were almost too bright. He kissed him, laying him gently on the ground then got to his feet. He started to move for the fireplace when Yuugi shifted, pulled into the shadows just like he was under the bed. Kaiba tried to catch him, but the thing slithered into his way. “The fire.”

He glared at it, storming over to one of the sheets and snatching it off of a dusty table. He tossed part of it in the fireplace to catch then threw it back over the table. It caught easily, spreading to the other sheets around it. He looked back, but the demon wasn’t satisfied. Of course it wasn’t. He grabbed the sheet from the end table by the front door and lit it as well, bringing it back and watching it catch the old withering paint ablaze. 

What was the point of all this? 

When he turned back, the demon was gone. Yuugi was gone. His whole body locked up in terror. Did the demon go back on the deal? He tried to bolt for the kitchen, but his legs gave out under him, sending him to the ground. His throat filled with sticky fluid and he choked on it, spitting black ink out of his mouth onto the dusty wood floor. 

He couldn’t breathe! 

His lungs, now filled with the ink, felt like they were on fire just like the house. The muscles in his neck and shoulders locked and on fire as well. He collapsed, darkness tunneling around him. 

He tried with all his strength to take just one breath.

  
\---

Yuugi crawled out from under the bed shaking and sobbing. Everything hurt, his cheek stung, his fingers burned, but he had to get to Seto. He remembered everything. He remembered the week with Atem and his friends, remembered the demon talking to Seto, remembered him taking his place. He had to save him! There had to be a way and the only one close enough that might know, was Ryou. He pushed himself up, clawing at the sheets on the bed to get himself to his feet and trying not to panic. Unfortunately, seeing his own bloody handprints on the bed didn’t allow any level of calm. 

On his feet, but still wobbly, he tried to run for the door and stumbled, slamming his shoulder into it. “Joey!” he sobbed, pressing his forehead against it. Why wasn’t he strong enough to walk? There wasn’t any time! “Ryou! Tea!”

“Yuugi?!”

Hearing his friends, even though they sounded so far away, gave him the will to push through and he stumbled out of the room into the banister. He blinked, completely confused how he got upstairs, and even more confused at the flames devouring the wall that joined their house with the B&B. Ryou stood at the bottom of the stairs, searching frantically for him. “Yuugi! Yuugi where are you?”

They thought he was downstairs. He should be downstairs. “Ryou I’m up here!”

He looked up and gasped, waving to someone down the hall. Joey tore through the lobby, pausing just long enough to glance up at Yuugi before he was off again, racing up the stairs. Yuugi watched him, holding onto the banister. “Joey, we ne-”

Joey grabbed his wrist to pull him along to the stairs. 

“Wait!”

It would’ve worked fine if he could walk right. They’d already be downstairs, out the front doors and probably in his living room by now if he could. Even his grip on the banister was too weak to do much of anything and he fell. 

“Shit! Yuug!” Joey knelt down and helped him sit up, gripping his shoulder a little too tight. “Ya alright?’

“No. No I’m not. I think Seto’s in our house. We need to help him. The demon’s still here.”

“What?”

“Please Joey.” Yuugi pushed at him, trying to stand up. “We need to move.” 

“Hurry Joey!” Ryou shouted from the ground floor, “It’s moving really fast!”

“Well then get outta here!” 

Ryou stuttered then disappeared under the banister. It seemed like he went through Marla’s apartment. He hoped she and the boys were okay. Joey helped him up, but Yuugi was little assistance. He stared at the flames devouring the wall, stretching up to the ceiling, black smoke making it impossible to see it’s definition. Joey cursed under his breath knelt back down with him. In a matter of seconds their only means of escape, the staircase was engulfed in flames. 

He coughed from the smoke and hugged himself, sure they were going to die there. What would happen to Seto? No one knew. No one would be able to help him.

“Did ya hear that?”

“What?”

Joey hit him on the shoulder and pointed down the hall. He turned and blinked, not believing what he was seeing. “Did we breathe in too much smoke?”

“I dunno… but I think that’s Topper.”

It was Topper. He’d know that little guy anywhere. Yuugi smiled despite how hopelessly lost he felt. He missed him so much. Topper stood up on his back legs, sniffing the air, then turned around squeaking and making his way down the hall into one of the rooms. He paused in the doorway, looked back at them then waddled inside. “I think he wants us ta follow him.”

“Okay.” 

Yuugi strained to stand, but Joey wouldn't let him stand all the way. He wrapped Yuugi’s arm over his shoulders and they hobbled down the hall, the fire catching the walls and ceiling just behind them. When they got in the room, Topper sat on the windowsill of an open window. The curtains billowed in the breeze, the screen gone. Topper squeaked, his nose twitched and then he scurried right off the sill and out the window. 

Yuugi gasped, both from Topper just jumping out of a two story window and from Joey shoving him trying to get to the window as fast as he could. Reaching for the door knob to steady himself, Yuugi had the sense to shut it, leaning his shoulder on to it so he could try and make it towards the bed. “Where did he go?”

Joey smiled leaning out the window then stepped back, beaming at him. “He showed us a way out. Come on. I’ll help ya.”

He took Joey’s outstretched hand and got up onto the window sill. “It’s a good thing I’m not afraid of heights, huh?”

Joey snorted and helped him up onto the sil. A tree branch pressed up against the house at the window. A large tree branch, perfect for this if it held their weight. He wasn’t a rat. Joey managed to get him on the branch and waited until he shimmied down it to the tree before he got out onto it as well. No need to overload the branch and hurt or kill them both. Yuugi held on with whatever strength he had left and by some miracle they were able to climb down. 

At the bottom, Topper sat on one of the lower branches cleaning off his face. Yuugi smiled at him. “Thank you.”

He ignored him, like he did to everyone and walked along the branch, disappearing at the end of it. Yuugi blinked, staring at the end of the branch, then fumbled over towards it, reaching up to feel around it. He wasn’t there. He just disappeared. 

  
\---

Kaiba couldn’t see anything. It felt like he had a vice grip in his chest around this heart and lungs, but he was able to breathe a little. He wasn’t sure where he was and he couldn't see anything. He smelled smoke, but couldn’t find the will or energy to do anything about it. Then the smell became stronger, overpowering and he felt hot. He coughed and tried to move away from it, waving the smoke out of his face. He blinked, trying to get his eyes to stop stinging when he noticed he could see.

He was in his house, their part of the B&B and everything was on fire. Groaning he rolled onto his side and pushed himself up. It took him a minute to get to his feet. His headache, his whole body ached and he still couldn’t strained to breathe. The smoke didn’t help. On his feet, he glanced at the front door, blocked. He stumbled through the burning living room to the kitchen, but after he rounded the hall, he didn't make it to his office door before he realized the rest of the hall was blocked by fire just like the front door. He stepped back, thinking to go to the back door in the living room or maybe smash a window but his way was consumed in fire. He was trapped. He couldn't get out. He backed up against the island trying to figure out if he should chance it and run into the living room, maybe break a window or something, when the basement door knob turned.

He stared at it, pressed further into the island watching it slowly swing open. 

“Seto!”

That was Mokuba’s voice. It was cruel to hear him again after all this time and to know it wasn’t him. He should’ve expected it. It had to be the demon. “You’re not real.” 

“Hurry up! There’s windows down here you know.”

He wanted to run in the opposite direction. It was only the demon playing a trick on him. He knew it was. Though, the more he thought about it, he found it strange that it used Mokuba’s voice to try and lure him somewhere. Atem’s or Yuugi’s would’ve had him moving without a second thought. He waited to see if he’d hear it again, waited to see if the demon would change its tactics.

“Now’s not the time to be a stubborn ass, big bro.”

Letting out a shaky breath, his eyes stung. “Language.”

It didn’t matter really, if it was Mokuba or if it was the demon. He wasn’t getting out of there without trying and the fire had no intention of waiting for him to make up his mind. He wanted to make it quick, get it over with, and shoved the door open the rest of the way to charge down the stairs. He hit the switch but it didn’t work. No surprise there. Wiping at his chin with his sleeve, he searched the basement. The only light was the fire, rolling and lapping at parts of the floor it’d almost ate through. There was a window down there. One, off to the left just big enough for him to crawl through. He knew it and the demon knew it. 

Even with so little light, he was able to find his kitchen table they stored down there when they first moved in and shoved it against the concrete wall. Nothing was down there aside from him and boxes of storage. No cold, no demon, no Mokuba, no Atem. Just him and the raging fire above. He knew that would change, the demon would show itself or take over eventually, but in that moment, his only concern was getting out. He started to hop up on the table, had his knee up and ready to jump but his other foot never left the ground. 

Something pulled on his sleeve. 

He didn’t look, frozen with fear of what he’d see if he did. 

“It’s okay. I’m right here with you.” 

Kaiba screwed his eyes shut, still afraid even with the soothingly soft tone of Mokuba’s voice. He expected to see Mokuba, but he expected him to be like Yuugi was in the police station; black evil eyes and a mess of ink and darkness. Seeing him like that would hurt worse than his voice. At the very least, he expected to see the demon as it was before… it’s face… 

He worked up enough self somehow to open his eyes but it took him a moment to turn.

Who he saw standing beside him with a gentle grip on his sleeve was someone he never believed he would. _ Mokuba _ . He looked just like himself before getting sick and growing ghostly pale with dark circles under his eyes. He had his favorite suit on. Not the grey one he wore all the time and told everyone was his favorite, but the white one with ridiculously gaudy diamond studded sunglasses sticking out of the breast pocket that he only wore at home when he was having a bad day and needed to ‘feel cool’. He stood there smiling up at him like nothing in the world was wrong. Like there was no fire, no demon and he was alive. He… he looked like he was alive. ”Mokuba?”

“Yep!” He winked and tilted his head, releasing his sleeve to playfully punch his shoulder. “Pretty cool, huh?’

He hugged. Almost tripped on his own two feet, forgetting he was half on the table and half off, but he hugged him as tight as he could. He was warm and solid and there! He smelled like he always did and he missed it. He missed him. He wanted to tell him that, but a quick glance to the glowing stairs from the fire reminded him he didn't have time. “Come on. We need to get out of here. I’ll help you up.”

Mokuba locked his grip on him so he couldn’t move, still smiling. “We’re kinda stuck here.”

“There’s a window right there.”

“Yeah… but you made a deal with a demon and if you go out that window-” he shrugged his shoulders then let go of Kaiba's arms to make a hand puppet with his right hand pathetically ‘chomping’ at his shoulder. “Arrrrgh.”

Kaiba just stared at him.

“I’m the only reason he’s not making you go out the window to terrorize the world. He picked the wrong brother to mess with, huh?!” Mokuba puffed out his chest, looking particularly pleased with himself. 

He couldn't help it, he laughed wrapping his arms around him again. “Yes he did.”

Mokuba hummed content and happy and he savored the feel of it, the sound of it, but he didn’t get to stay in that moment as long as he’d like. Mokuba sat back, looking at the basement door then him, smiling sadly. Kaiba understood. He didn’t need to be sad. “So I have to stay here?”

“...Yeah-” he sighed- “but I’m not leaving you. I’m right here with you. Just like you were for me.”

A lump formed in his throat making it impossible to thank him like he wanted to. 

Mokuba just nodded. 

He sat on the table, scooting over so Mokuba could sit beside him, and leaned against the concrete wall. Mokuba wrapped his arm around his, holding his hand. The concrete was cold; Mokuba was still so warm. The fire lapped at the stairs now. He could see the light flickering through the basement. A siren blared in the distance, drawing closer, but he wasn’t paying attention to it. He just kept staring at the fire, his hand in Mokuba’s on the table top. 

\---

Joey carried Yuugi on his back around to the front of the house, meeting up with Marla, the boys, Ryou, and Tea. Tea was on the phone with emergency services and he could hear a siren headed their way. Help would be there any minute. He kept praying that they’d be there in time to get Seto out. He wanted to get him himself, but he could hardly move. Ryou helped him stand up after Joey set him down. “Where’s Kaiba?”

“He’s still inside. We need to help him.”

Ryou pursed his lips, looking away from him, but didn’t let him go. Yuugi glared at him. They weren’t even going to try? He thought about pushing out of Ryou’s grip when Marik’s sheriff car pulled up alongside them. He got out and shut the door. “Did everyone get out?”

“Seto’s still inside. We need to help him.”

Marik nodded and turned, grabbing the walkie on his shoulder as he took a step towards the house. “Sis I’m here, it’s-”

In that instant, Yuugi’s whole world ceased to exist. 

A crackle then a loud bang erupted from the burning house. Flames poured from it and the roof shifted, then plummeted down. He stared at it, not believing what he saw. “S-Seto...” He moved, in an all out run whether his legs would let him or not he didn't care. 

He didn't make it far, someone grabbed him and pulled him down to the ground just as another explosion sent tremors through it. He felt like someone shot him in the chest. He couldn't breathe. “Seto’s in there,” he rasped, “Joey we- He can’t be-”

Joey kept telling him to breathe. Didn’t he know he was trying? His heart hurt, his lungs hurt and nothing he did made either of them work. He felt light headed, still trying to get air but what little he did get didn’t seem to help. He couldn't see the fire anymore and Joey’s face was fading too. He wheezed, trying to blink away the black circling in, until everything, his vision and his heart, was consumed in black. 

\---

Yuugi moved back to Domino city while he waited for the B&B to be rebuilt and decide if he wanted to go back or sell it. He couldn’t remember the last 3 months since the fire. All he did remember was his friends never leaving his side. He’d wake up from a nightmare and Tea would sit up with him and talk him down so he could go back to sleep. Joey kept poking at him to make sure he ate and Ryou was there at the right times to be a shoulder to cry on. He met Tea’s girlfriend Mai when he moved back to the city. She helped him get a new place and pick out new furniture. He hadn’t seen Carly yet. Wasn’t ready yet. 

He wasn’t any more ready to be in the cemetery either, but he needed to be. He sat on the ground facing Seto’s and Mokuba’s tombstones with flowers at his feet, not really seeing any of it, just existing in the sunlight and the breeze. He took a deep breath of it, cut grass and flower blossoms and exhaled, shaky and long. Reaching up to his chest he fiddled with Seto’s wedding ring on the chain around his neck. He lost his doll, but he kept this. Nothing felt real. It felt like a really elaborate and really bad joke. He kept waiting for Seto to come home. When would that stop?

A shadow cast over the flowers at his feet and he looked over to his right. Joey, sat down next to him with a huff. He smiled at the flowers and put his arm up on his knee. “Thought I’d find ya here.”

“Did you need something?”

“Oh nah, I was just-” He frowned and tilted his head looking at the tombstones, tapping his finger on a box in his hands. “Well I wanted ta give ya this. Ivy sent it. It’s from her and her friends in town. And uh..I was wantin’ ta talk ta ya bout somethin’, but I don’t wanna make things worse.”

Yuugi smiled at him, more or less to get him to relax. There was no possible way he could make this worse. “Give me the box first, then we’ll see.”

Joey laughed and handed it to him. It felt heavy making him wonder what it could possibly be. He opened it up and his smile disappeared. A quilt laid in the bottom of it, very similar to the one he’d bought in the shop, but on top was a sewn dark magician doll with a bell on it’s hat just like his. It even had the note attached to his foot from Seto. He picked it up and looked at it, the tiny bell ringing when he did. “Ivy and Tammy thought ya would like it. Replace the one.”

“...I do.” 

Joey puffed out his cheeks and raised his eyebrows before glancing over to him. “I uh… I wanna tell ya how I woke up and uh… why we were lookin’ for ya.”

He frowned, watching Joey chew the inside of his cheek then glance at him again. 

“I was dead asleep, I mean, ya know?”

He breathed out a brief laugh. “Yes I know.”

“Well, I woke up and like, somethin’ was pullin’ on my leg. So I freaked out and fell outta bed, but… I saw who pulled me outta bed.” He shifted on the grass crossing his legs under him. “It was Mokuba.”

Yuugi’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I swear. The kid pulled me outta bed and started yellin’ at me ta wake up. Like he used ta do before when we all crashed at your place. Said ya were hurt.” Joey looked at him and smiled. “So I went lookin’ for ya. Wrong floor, but ya know?” He reached up and scratched the back of his head then let his hand fall in his lap. “I just wanted ya ta know… I don’t think he was alone.”

Yuugi felt something, for the first time in a long time, and though it wasn’t near the realm of happiness, he really appreciated it. His mouth was dry and he sniffled as tears welled up in his eyes, but he was smiling. And it was a real smile. “Thank you, Joey.”

He snickered and wrapped his arm over his shoulder resting his head against him. “Ya ain't alone either.”

He screwed his eyes closed, his mouth too dry and the lump in his throat wouldn’t go away. All he could do was think it. Joey had no idea how much everything he did, especially this, meant to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you come at me with pitchforks, there is one more chapter and I'm weak so I'm going to put it up with this one so you don't have to suffer forever. <3


	15. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank the YGO Big Bang mods for making this event possible and for the welcoming atmosphere! I met so many talented writers and artists. I'll 100% be back next year to do this all over again! Look through the collection for more amazing works of art and fics. 
> 
> In case you missed the STUNNING artwork Artsysyd123 and Untimelyrose created for Take My Soul please check it out and give them some much deserved love! I'm so lucky to have such amazing art partners for this event. I couldn't have asked for a better experience! 
> 
> Artsysyd123- [Coverart for Take My Soul](https://artsysyd123.tumblr.com/post/626154535250984960/here-it-is-my-piece-for-yugioh-big-bang-2020-an)   
> Untimelyrose- [Scene capture from Chapter Nine (number 10) ](https://untimelyrose.tumblr.com/post/627139667649757184/my-collab-with-writelovetomeempress-for-the)

They walked together through the vast fog, following a poorly constructed stone pathway tenderly cared for to make it easy to follow. It might’ve taken him a while to find it, but he knew exactly where he was going. The fog left little to be seen, the trees hidden but oddly familiar. He didn't find the path by the trees though. He just… knew it was there. Just like he knew Atem would be there. After all, they were going to the same place. 

He felt Atem take his hand and glanced over. He still couldn’t get over how striking he was without all the ink. “I missed you.”

Kaiba humphed.

“I don’t miss that.”

He squeezed his hand. That was all he was going to get.

“I’m sorry. For everything.”

“I only want you to be sorry for some things,” he said and lifted Atem’s hand to kiss the back of it, “not everything.”

They walked a little further and Kaiba clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Did you ever find out your real name? I’m assuming you did.”

“I did. I just like the one you and Yuugi gave me better.”

“What was it?”

“Would you believe my name was Jacob?”

Kaiba stopped walking to stare at him, too dumbfounded to speak. Then shook his head and started walking again. “That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard.”

He laughed, squeezing his hand and nodded. “It used to be Ayuba, but we changed all our names when we moved to the town.”

“Why?” 

“My father was a doctor. He’s the reason I became one, but one of the villages we lived in had a bout of some plague I can’t remember and they blamed it on us. So when we moved again, we decided to stay put and we had to change our names. Mahaado got stuck with David and my little sister Mana got stuck with Marie. It could’ve been worse.”

“It’s dumb.”

“Thank you.”

Kaiba snickered and looked up at a light in the distance. So small and hardly noticeable at first then it grew brighter and warmer. He grinned, feeling Atem’s hand tighten on his. There it was. A perfect house hidden in the trees with roses and irises planted around it, a garden off to the side, and a wooden wreath tied with red ribbon on the front door. Tacky curtains covered lit windows; the glow was beautiful, even dimmed by them and the fog. 

There was no place in existence or beyond he’d rather be.

  
\---

Today was hard. 

He thought he was doing so well. He was moving, still numb to everything, but he was moving. His smile never quite reached anything but his lips and they could see it. He was trying. He never thought it would be like this. One infinite moment of agony, lingering on and on and on and he just wanted it to stop. So many regrets and things he didn’t get to say, moments he didn’t get to have and the ones he did have hurt to hold on to. He kept thinking he was dreaming and when he’d wake up he’d see Seto laying beside him or hear the bell of his Magician doll down the hallway. Kept thinking he’d see them again. Day after day, he woke up to this numb and muted nightmare only feeling grief so deep in his soul he felt like he was drowning.

The house. 

Everything about the house tore him up. He thought he could handle this. He wanted it to work so badly. Some of the happiest days of his life were spent in this place. He had it built exactly like it was before, down to the smallest detail, and he made damn sure, just like Seto did originally, that it was done _ right _ . Those poor construction people probably hated him. He didn’t care. He wanted his life back. He stayed in the add-on apartment that Marla had originally, getting it set up for her to move in later in the month. He just couldn't face their part of the house with new furniture and new things in it. 

Despite everything being new, he did have some things from the past left. They had a storage unit with some old things they planned on donating. Yuugi never got around to it and they both got distracted with Atem so it never went anywhere. Funny how just a few hours could make everything there suddenly more valuable than gold. Especially the surprise that never should’ve been there in the first place. 

There was a box sitting right up front with beautifully legible black letters all over it in a detailed note to him from Seto about what was in the box and what to do with it. He must’ve thought they'd be at the storage unit after they moved and would pick the box up, but they never did. That box had all of Seto’s most valued things in it. Pictures of him and Mokuba, pictures of him and Yuugi that he actually liked, his chess set that Yuugi got him and his favorite cashmere sweater that he wouldn’t let Yuugi touch because he was worried he’d spill something on it. 

Things from the past weren’t the only changes he made. A chance find at a thrift store Ivy took him to when he first moved back had him wondering if the Universe was trying to help him out. A basket of curtains marked for mere change were too good to pass up. Seto would hate them, but if anything would bring him back, those sure would. A storm destroyed the landscaping in the front of the B&B so he ordered new bushes but was sent roses and irises by mistake. He got his money back and loved the smell when he walked to the front door. Joey brought Carly over to see him and she made him a stick wreath with red ribbon. He loved it so much he hung it on the front door. To keep him busy, he followed Marla’s advice and her and the boys helped him build a garden off to the side. He probably would’ve moved back to Domino City by then if he didn’t have that. 

Today he thought he could try and stay the night in his home instead of the apartment. Just one night after a year and a half of being away shouldn’t be too hard. He spent the day putting those things away in the house, moving things to how he’d like, writing a message on the refrigerator with letter magnets saying ‘I miss you’ knowing he’d never get a reply, and trying not to let the smell in the air get to him. Not the smell of a new house… the smell of Seto’s cologne.

By the end of the night, he just couldn’t handle it. He laid on their bed, wrapped up in Seto’s cashmere sweater, sobbing into the pillow he got specifically because it looked identical to Atem’s by the glow of painted stars; not as good as when they did it together, but it still hurt to look at. He kept smelling Seto everywhere even though everything was new. He had to be there. This couldn’t be real. This silence couldn’t be real. Nothing this horrible could be real. 

He couldn’t do this.

He couldn’t but he didn’t have the strength to leave. 

A loud pop made him jerk up, sitting on the bed with the pillow still in his arms. He tried to take a calming breath, but all he managed to do was hiccup. He sniffled, letting out a shaky breath through his mouth and looked around the room, waiting to hear something else. Nothing. He sighed. He needed to leave. He was foolishly waiting, listening, hoping for anything to show they were still there. Now he was hearing things. 

He hugged the pillow tighter and buried his face in it, when he heard it again. This time he recognized it. It sounded like the stereo speakers turned up too loud and the cord was pulled. “I should’ve brought Joey over,” he murmured and climbed out of the bed, staring at the bedroom door. 

He was scared. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t, but that hope that it was Atem clouded over any fear he had. He left the pillow behind and walked to the door, slowly opening it up. The speakers crackled. He knew for a fact he didn’t touch it and held his breath walking out of the room and descending the stairs. Keeping his eyes on the kitchen, he walked down the hallway until he could see the basement door. Closed.

The speakers still crackled and popped, making him turn to the living room. It was dark. The stereo was on and so was his gaming system. He walked into the living room slowly, watching the stereo volume turn itself down to a reasonable place. He took a step toward it reaching with an unsteady hand to turn it off when a song started playing through the speakers. He recognized the song immediately, Sleeping with Ghosts, and its haunting appropriateness of the moment wasn’t lost on him. He backed up and nervously searched the living room. “H-hello?”

He walked around the coffee table, trying to look everywhere at once when the refrigerator caught his eye. He stopped, staring wide eyed at the words. It didn’t say ‘I miss you’ anymore. It said ‘you better appreciate this I still hate this song’ perfectly straight aside from the word ‘hate’ slanted for added effect. “Seto?” 

He sank to his knees staring at it until he couldn’t see through his tears anymore. The room grew cold, much more like he’d grown used to and he felt someone brush against his hair, just like Seto always did. Just like Atem did. He screwed his eyes shut and hung his head in his hands, too overwhelmed to do much else. He felt someone nuzzle into his hair and a hand brushing over his back. Another rest on his hip while cold fingers curled around his, pulling his hand away, but he couldn’t bring himself to look. 

What if it wasn’t them?

He sniffled, letting his other hand be pulled away as well, even though he refused to look up. Not that he needed too. He could see someone kneeling in front of him. Recognized the shoes, his pants and looked up, choking back another sob. He felt split in two; devastated that his worst fear was staring him in the face and elated that he didn’t leave him. The hand brushing over his back slipped around his waist and pulled him back slightly and he heard the small bell ring.  _ They _ didn’t leave him.

“I don’t understand. How are you here?”

Seto reached up and brushed his fingers across his cheek, wiping away some of his tears. “We chose to stay. This is home.”

“What happened to you? Why did you leave me?”

Seto humphed, shaking his head slowly. 

Yuugi turned in Atem’s arms looking at him and blinked, eyes wide. He looked so different. With the ink gone, his eyes were the color of wine like it was the night he told him he loved him. He even had his own clothes. Yuugi liked them better. He choked out a laugh, looking up at his hair. Atem had apparently already helped himself to his things: the new Dark Magician doll, a replica of Topper’s little black top hat the boys gave him when he moved back, the white king, black queen and black rook from Seto’s chess set and his sunglasses. Yuugi’s smile hurt. It was like he never left. 

Atem mirrored his smile and pressed his forehead to his. “Did we keep you waiting?”

“Yeah. You did.” 

“Don’t cry, sunbeam, you’ll never be without us again.”

“I want to know where the hell you found those,” Seto said, glaring past them.

He tried to figure what he was glaring at but in the dark he didn't really see much. “Found what?”

Atem leaned back away from him, pointing at the windows and smirking. “I love the curtains.”

Seto scoffed, “Of course you would.”

Yuugi laughed, tears in his eyes, looking up at the curtains. “I had to get them. I figured if anything would bring you back it would be those for you to complain about.”

“You’re right about that,” Seto snickered and Yuugi’s smile widened feeling the vibration of it.

Atem wrapped his arms around him and Yuugi smiled through his tears, feeling both of them near him again. He might be cold, shivering so much his teeth chattered, and the anxiety of being wrapped up in death’s embrace might add to his trembling, but he refused to let them go. They were home! He was home.

  
  


##  **_5 years later_ **

The camera focused on a white sheet laid over a chair, then moved around the room, showing more furniture covered in white sheets, cobwebs and dust covering everything. The carpet ripped up to show the subfloor in the corner and the yellow floral wallpaper curling on the walls. Then someone walked into the camera’s view, ducking down so it focused on his face. His eyes were bright in the light of the camera, a magical doll nestled in his hair and a glint of a ring on a chain around his neck unfocused the camera for a split second. He smiled and looked directly into it. 

“Hey everyone! Happy Halloween from all of us! We got in your request and we’re investigating the haunting of Briar Mansion in upstate New York.” He picked up the camera and turned it to face two women knelt down setting up camera equipment. They both turned and waved. “We have a new face joining us today. Do you want to introduce everyone, Tea?”

Tea laughed and turned to the woman next to her and wrapped her arm around her arm. “This is the most beautiful woman in the world!”

He laughed, the camera shaking slightly. “For those of you just joining us, this is Tea and Mai Valentine. Tea is one of our investigators and Mai is our new manager!”

Mai threw her hair back over her shoulder and winked at the camera making Tea laugh. The camera moved to the right, swaying slightly as it moved from the living room into the kitchen. Two guys stood in the kitchen playing rock, paper, scissors, resulting in the blond one’s loss. He groaned and slammed his hand down on the counter making everything creak. “Shit sorry.”

“Introducing our two favorite idiots.”

“Hey! Have some respect, Yuug’.”

He laughed and walked up closer to them. “This is Joey Wheeler, another of our investigators, though we prefer to call him ‘bait’.”

Joey sucked his teeth and shook his head at him, smirking. 

“And this is Tristan Taylor, our cameraman and sometimes investigator when his wife says it’s okay.”

Tristan jumped into the camera getting too close and unfocusing it. “Shout out to my babies Carly and Grace and my beautiful wife Serenity.” Then he stepped back mockingly glaring at Yuugi. “I don’t need permission.”

“So she gave you permission?”

Tristan blushed and glared at all of them. “Yeah.”

He laughed, walking past them while Joey waved into the camera. The camera moved into the foyer where two tables filled with equipment sat against the wall and a man and woman stood beside it murmuring. “And this is Ishizu Ishtar and her brother Marik Ishtar.” They turned to him and smiled politely. “Ishizu is our Demonologist and Marik is our equipment expert, but his biggest job is in case Joey being bait is successful.” 

Marik laughed and turned away to look back at the table fiddling with a machine. Ishizu smiled and looked directly into the camera, then up at Yuugi. “We’re on to something here. It’s watching us.”

Yuugi ‘ooed’ when someone walked in from a different room. “We’re all set in the billiards room.”

“And this is Ryou Bakura, our occultist expert, case manager, and fan favorite! Say hi Ryou!”

Ryou groaned, his cheeks turning pink.

“It’s the accent… and apparently he has the best scream out of all of us.”

Ryou’s blush deepened and he glared at Yuugi. “I’ll quit.”

“No you won’t.”

His glare disappeared and he looked around the house, beaming. “No I won’t. This place has a lot of history. Double murder suicide most notably. The children’s rooms are bloody freezing. I think we should start there.”

“Right behind you!”

Ryou smiled and shook his head, walking off camera. Yuugi turned it, looking away from it to see where he was walking. “Honorable mentions: Odion our evidence analyst who never goes to these things because he’s the smart one. Seto Kaiba, my husband, editor, and investigator assistant and last but definitely not least, my emotional support Atem.” He laughed and looked down at the camera. “and I'm Yuugi Kaiba, lead investigator and owner of Stonevale bed and breakfast in Aramore, Domino. There’s a link at the end of the video if you want to check it out.” The camera shifted again and voices from the others were heard from the living room. 

“Okay, Yuug’ we’re set!”

“Great,” Yuugi turned the camera to face them, all standing grouped together with various equipment in their hands. “Okay, who’s teaming up with who?”

“I call dibs on hubby number one!” Tea screamed and jumped up, reaching towards the ceiling.

“That’s bullshit. Ya got him last time.”

Mai laughed. “Should’ve called him first then.”

“Can I get Atem this time?”

Tea laughed and shook her head. “Nope. He always goes with Yuugi. That’s the rules.”

Joey groaned and slumped. 

Yuugi giggled. “Okay, Ryou?”

“Marik, Ishizu, and I are going upstairs to the children’s rooms.”

“I guess that fuckin’ mean’s we’re getting the attic…”

Tristan patted Joey’s back, adjusting the large camera on his shoulder. “Hey at least I’m going with you man. Could be worse.”

“Then I get the basement. Great!” Yuugi said and the camera angle shifted to a new camera facing them from Yuugi’s eye line. “Okay. Keep your walkies on. If you need anything, shout.”

“Ha! Ryou knows.”

Ryou kicked Joey’s leg making him bounce on one foot and laugh. They all split up, Yuugi followed Tea and Mai down the hallway towards the basement door. Tea slowed and the camera glitched. Suddenly, she put her hands to her sides and walked very differently. Tea turned so that the camera could catch her profile. A male voice could be heard though the only one there was Yuugi and Tea’s lips moved with the voice as if it came from her, “Something is in the sunroom.”

“Ooo. Alright, sugar. Lead the way.”

Yuugi watched them walk away, and shouted to them as they disappeared around the doorframe. “Be careful, Seto!”

He turned his attention to the basement door and the camera just sat on it for a moment, then Yuugi murmured, “Here we go. Thank you for staying with me.”

The camera moved towards the basement door and he reached out and opened it, revealing nothing but black. He took a step down the stairs and pointed the flashlight from the camera down them. Nothing could be seen besides the dust covered stairs and shadows surrounding the circular light. He took another step when something raced across the outer edges of the light more into the shadows but not quite in the black. Yuugi stopped moving and his heaving breaths were the only thing heard over the camera. Then he took a deep breath and walked down the stairs. A voice came on, not Yuugi’s and it’s unclear where it’s coming from. “It’s alright. We want to help.”

Yuugi walked further down the stairs to the bottom, the light and camera slowly sweeping across the basement. 

Rebecca touched the screen on her phone and swiped it all the way to the end where the information was on the Bed and Breakfast. She touched the link and looked up rooms there, but it was full. She needed to leave now. Shakily she touched the phone number and held her phone to her ear curling into herself. The dial tone mixed with bangs and scrapes above her room, made her wince. Then a woman's voice came on, “Stonevale Bed and Breakfast. This is Marla speaking. How can I help you?”

“M-my name is Rebecca. I need…” She jolted from the loud crashing sound just above her and curled into herself more. “I need to speak with Yuugi Kaiba please.”

There was silence on the phone, then she sighed, “Well sweety. You’re in luck. He just got back from a trip. I’ll transfer you over… Are you okay?”

She felt tears stream down her face, vision burled. “No.”

“Hang in there.”

The phone rang again and a very cheerful voice came on, just like he was in the video. “Hello?”

“Is this Yuugi Kaiba?”

“Yeah, that’s me!” He paused. “Are you okay?”

“No. I didn’t know who to call. I need help.”

Her bedroom door rattled and the handle turned, she stared at it horrified and pulled the blankets up to her chin, shaking. 

“Where are you?”

“4579 Hale street, Domino city.” She sobbed, screwing her eyes shut. “Please help me!”

The door swung hard against the wall. 

She screamed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this spooky tale! I can't wait to work on the sequel ; )


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